Out of the Blue
by Bluemoon375
Summary: For Candace, nothing in life came easy, especially being happy. Having lived in the shadows her entire life she felt destined for a life of misery. But when a dying Castanet receives a new resident she finds strange new feelings awakening deep inside herself. Will the town's potential savoir be the key to her happiness and more? And what if they're not just a hero, but also a girl?
1. Tightrope

In the silence that filled Sonata Tailoring, Candace sat off in the corner of the shop beside her sewing machine, mulling over the tattered cloth in her hands. She monotonously slid her index finger in and out of the hole she had accidentally torn in what was originally intended to be a scarf but now barely passed as even a washcloth. The floodgates of her eyes felt ready to burst as she looked out upon the hollow interior of the shop.

The establishment wasn't exactly devoid of any product; in fact it was quite the opposite. Lines of fabric still adorned the shelves and a wide variety shirts and dresses were scattered about on display atop the numerous counters and racks within the room. It was how long the clothes had been sitting out ignored and unpurchased, however, that made it feel empty to her. The land of Castanet had slowly been fading away for years now and its remaining residents were holding out for a miracle. They were far too preoccupied with keeping themselves afloat in these pressing times to worry about something as insignificant as their wardrobe.

As logical of a reason it was to explain the lack of sales the shop had been experiencing as of late though, it was the truth after all, Candace refused to put the blame on anything other than herself. In her mind nobody was coming to buy clothes from them because everything up on display now consisted of only her designs and not those of her sister Luna. She felt that her work wasn't up to even the lowest of people's standards and that she lacked the remarkable sewing skills that ran through her family, the torn fabric in her hand served as a testament to that theory.

With her self-esteem absolutely destroyed Candace proceeded to raise the cloth up to her face in an effort to conceal both the tears dripping out of her eyes and to hide herself from the countless eyes she felt fixated on her. She could feel the nonexistent stares of the town's residents locked upon her from all angles of the room, casting down a harsh and judging gaze.

"Are you even trying?"She can hear them ask. "Why can't you ever do anything right? Why didn't _you_ leave instead of your sister?You're just no good…"

At that moment as she further pressed her face into the soft fabric Candace wished for more than anything else to simply fade away from reality so that perhaps the disappointment she believed her very existence brought could vanish as well. Despite knowing that the voices she heard in her head were in fact not real and _probably_ not the actual opinions of her fellow Harmonica Town residents it did her no help in trying to feel like any less of an inconvenience. While everyone else was out attempting to preserve a sense of fun in the region by celebrating the firefly festival she had instead chosen to remain at home with hopes of finally crafting something people could be impressed by.

Those dreams might as well have been torn up with the scarf now.

Her muffled sobbing continued to echo throughout the room until a sudden knock at the door sent her into an immediate state of disarray. Just about jumping from fright she quickly spun in her seat towards the direction of the door. The beating of her heart matched the rapid rhythm of the knocking that continued for only another moment before the sound of the doorknob clicking caused just about every inch of her body to freeze up.

"G-G-Grandma…?" She nervously questioned, hoping that it was simply Shelly returning home.

"Grandma? Well I'm not that old yet." An unfamiliar voice answered from the doorway with a laugh, nearly giving Candace a heart attack. Granted, she didn't even want her own grandmother coming across her crying like a baby over her latest failure but that seemed like a much better alternative than the stranger who now appeared to be entering her home.

She desperately wanted to shout something along the lines of "We're closed!" or, "No one's home!" but all she managed to do was attempt to hide herself in the torn scarf once more as a frightened whimper escaped her lips.

"Is anyone here?" She heard whoever had entered the shop ask, seemingly unable to spot her hiding in the back. "I thought I heard someone…"

Candace sank further into her seat, this was her chance to just lay low and hope that her mysterious visitor would just leave without ever noticing. For a split second it seemed as though her plan might work but once she heard what sounded like one of the clothing stacks being knocked over she jumped from her spot yet again.

"Oh no!" Both her and her guest virtually shouted in unison.

Candace sprang up from her seat and looked out towards the doorway to spot her visitor kneeling before a pile of clothes scattered about the floor in front of her. She was a young girl with short brown hair and an interesting ensemble of a yellow tank top over a plain white t-shirt tucked into a scarlet colored skirt.

"No, no, no, no, no." She muttered aloud to herself as tried to gather up the mess.

Candace shifted her position slightly to try and get a better look at the scene which caused the floor beneath her to let out an audible creak. The brown haired girl instantly looked up at her and as soon as their eyes met Candace let out a gasp and slid back behind the nearby display in an attempt to hide.

"I'm so sorry!" The girl apologized while completely ignoring Candace's antisocial gesture. "I didn't mean to knock everything over, honest!"

Candace partially exposed herself from her hiding spot and watched as the girl continued to form a sizable pile out of the mess among the floor.

" _They belong down there anyway…"_ She thought to herself. She hated this moment of weakness and self-loathing she found herself in but with things in Castanet as they were she found herself growing more and more vulnerable to depression each day.

Her attention drew back to the girl as she wrapped her arms around the mound of clothes she created and lifted them up off the ground before just about falling atop the counter in front of her.

"Argh, there we go." She huffed while wiping the nonexistent sweat from her brow. "Was there any way you wanted these set up?" Her sights fell upon Candace once again.

Accepting that trying to hide from this mysterious visitor was now futile, Candace sheepishly shuffled from her spot behind the store display.

"T-There is fine." She answered softly.

The girl gave somewhat of a pout and placed her hands on her hips, her eyes scanning the barren counter. "Oh come on, I'm sure you want these displayed someway. I messed it up, I'll fix it."

Candace began to scrunch up the damaged scarf that still remained in her grasp, bringing it up near her face. Personally she didn't care about how the clothes were laid out since no one in her mind would ever consider buying them but Shelly might have other plans.

"Oh, that's neat…" The girl remarked.

Candace looked back at her as she began to sort through the various designs that had just been set down, taking her time to examine each one carefully.

"Oh! I really like this one." She chirped while bringing a dark colored Victorian dress up to her chest. Her eyes scanned the room for a mirror facing her direction but eventually settled upon Candace when she spotted none. "What do you think?"

Candace's response was an awkward smile as she slowly lowered the scarf near her chin. _"She… she likes it…?"_

The girl giggled and smiled back before setting the dress back in the pile. Her hand glided across the collection of clothing while her expression appeared absolutely captivated by every single detail in the garments.

"Did you make all of these?" She asked, picking up another dress and examining it as she did so.

A faint gasp came from Candace as she clutched the scarf against her chest and took a step back. _"This is it, she's going to say they're awful…"_

"You work here right? I think that's what," The girl's eyes suddenly lit up. "OH! I'm so sorry! I haven't even introduced myself yet here I am barging into your house and knocking over all your hard work. I'm Molly, I just moved into town a few days ago." She said with another smile.

Candace managed to pull herself together just long enough to form a genuine smile back. "I-I'm Candace. Pleased to meet you…" She replied quietly.

"Oh, so you are Candace? I ran into your grandma at the festival back in town and she said you'd be here." Molly explained. "I thought it'd be nice to pop in and introduce myself."

Candace tightened her grip on the fabric tangled between her fingers and shut her eyes. There's wasn't a doubt in her mind that she was trying to nicely explain the fact that Shelly had in fact asked her to check up on her.

"So did you really make all of these?" She heard Molly ask.

She opened her slightly wet eyes to see as Molly began to sort through the pile once more.

Candace began to quietly stutter. "N-N-N…"

"They're really beautiful." Molly observed as she picked up another dress and held it up against her body. After a moment she gently set it back down on top of the counter and looked over the heap of clothes before staring back at Candace, patiently waiting for a response.

The poor seamstress's heart felt like it was about to explode any second now. The tender smile painted across Molly's face told her that her previous comments were spoken with the upmost sincerity but her own crushing sense of doubt refused to let her take the compliment. To her surprise, however, she soon found herself giving a nod.

"Y-Yeah." She answered.

"That's so cool!" Molly beamed. "It must have taken forever to learn how to make stuff this good."

"Please… I d-don't wanna distract you from the f-festival outside…" Candace muttered as she found herself quickly relapsing back into her unenthusiastic behavior.

"Oh nonsense, it's fine." Molly said as she started to wander off to a nearby display. "I want to see what else you've made. Besides, that festival out there seems more for couples really." She paused for a moment. "Is that why you didn't go?"

Candace let out a very distressed gasp and quickly spun around on her heels. Facing away from Molly she brought the scarf up to her eyes in preparation for the tears that seemed ready to burst out of them. It was an honest question if her tone was any indication but all Candace could hear was another person who knew of the lack of romance in her life.

"No! I didn't mean it like that!" Molly pleaded as Candace could hear her rushing over to her.

A moment later she felt as Molly placed her glove covered hand atop her shoulder. She peeked her eyes out from behind the scarf and saw as Molly looked at her with intense concern.

"Please, I didn't mean to offend you." She explained. "It's just that everyone else in town was there and you were here all al- Oh I'm just making this worse aren't I…?"

Candace lowered her arms and wiped eyes with her sleeve. "N-No… its f-fine…"

In truth it did upset her that with all her years of living in Castanet not a single one of the boys in the area seemed even slightly interested in her. It felt like just yet another ability she lacked that her sister had in spades. In some of the letters she'd sent since leaving Castanet, Luna had talked about some of the attention she had been receiving and would playfully invite Candace to come and share it with her, unaware of the effect it had on her sister's self-esteem. Sure, there was Julius, the accessory king, who would come and visit her from time to time in that flirtatious manner of his but it never really resonated with her. She hadn't the slightest clue what love felt like outside of family and it seemed easy to just write it off as something she might never know.

"If it makes you feel better I'm not having any luck in that department either." Molly nervously laughed, hoping to cheer her up.

Candace gave her a weak smile. Her comment really didn't help her mood as much as planned but it was clear that she was trying her hardest to cheer her up.

"Look, I'm sorry. I should really think before I go and say something like that." Molly apologized.

"I-It's… it's alright, really." Candace said.

Molly's gaze drifted back to the patterned clothing that surrounded them. "These designs really are amazing though." She told her in an attempt to change the subject.

"They're n-nothing really…" Candace muttered.

"Oh but just look at this." Molly argued as she walked up to a dress being displayed on rack. "I doubt I could ever make something this beautiful in my life."

All Molly's compliments seemed to slowly be reaching her as Candace began to feel her cheeks heat up with a slight blush.

"N-No, it's nothing at all…" She repeated. "Really…"

Molly looked back at her and smiled. "Well I think what you've managed to make here is incredible. I've never seen designs like this back at home."

As Candace silently fumbled with the scarf still in her hands Molly finally seemed to take note of it.

"I haven't been interrupting you while you were trying to work did I?" She asked.

Candace looked at the red cloth in her hands then back at Molly before gripping it into her stomach. "N-No! I, I was just…"

Slowly she found herself reverting back to her original state just before Molly had shown up.

"It was nothing…" Candace whimpered.

"You were making something when I barged in weren't you?" Molly asked. "I didn't mess you up… did I…?"

Candace seemed to either have the option of owning up to her own failure or pinning the blame on some innocent girl she had only just met.

"No… I… I screwed it up before you showed up…" She admitted. Strangely it didn't feel all as soul crushing as she thought it would.

"Aw, I'm sorry." Molly apologized. "What were you making?"

Something about the way Molly talked to her made her feel oddly calm the longer they conversed.

"It was just a s-scarf…" She answered quietly. "And I still managed to ruin it…" She said that last part just quiet enough that Molly couldn't hear her.

"Well… I bet it's not completely ruined." Molly said. "I bet you could fix it right up, good as new. Heck, I bet it's probably better than the scarf I have for the winter. It's all torn and full of holes. Hm, I guess I know where to come to get it replaced now, huh?" She finished with a laugh.

Candace's lips trembled for a moment before forming a slight smile.

"I guess I'm distracting you though, I should probably leave." She told her.

"Well… you… you d-don't have to… But…" It was hard to admit but while she was technically distracting from being able to salvage her scarf design now that her head was starting to clear up she didn't want her to leave just yet.

"No, no, it's fine. I still have some unpacking to do back home anyway." Molly told her as she started to head over towards the door. "Maybe I'll stop by later on in the week or something. You can show me some more of your amazing designs and hey, maybe I'll buy one instead of just fawning over it."

The edges of her mouth began to slowly curl upwards again.

"It was nice to meet you Candace." Molly smiled. "I'll see you later."

As the door slowly came shut Candace remained still near the center of the room. Looking down at the scarf in her hands she brought it close to her chest and smiled.

"Thank you…"


	2. What About You?

Molly never did come back to the tailor shop later that week like she had implied she would. Her parting words weren't _exactly_ a promise that she'd return, though, but Candace nonetheless found herself bothered by her absence. It's not as though she was obsessively watching the door every waking moment since their initial meeting in wait for her to show up however. No, rather she had simply hoped that with the way Molly had interacted with her that she would be different.

That unlike most everyone else in town she would have a genuine interest in coming to see her again in order to get to know her. Now it was starting to feel like she had only offered to come back in order to maintain some kind of charade that made it seem like actually cared about her feelings. It was a common experience for her, but that didn't make it hurt any less.

In fact, in this particular instance, it stung even more.

Sighing, Candace looked up from her spot in the second row of pews within the Celesta Church towards one of the stained glass images of the Goddess behind the altar. Surely the she must have had a reason for making her so inadequate compared to just about everyone else. Maybe she was just doomed to a life of misery and loneliness.

With another heavy sigh she looked about the chapel, finding it completely empty aside from herself. Perry had been in the process of leaving for town to take care of a few errands just as she had arrived earlier for her almost weekly visit but her typical mindset knew "better". He was likely just looking for an excuse to duck out of his duties to listen to whatever problems were plaguing her mind today; after all, why would anyone want to hear anything she had to say?

Mira was suspiciously absent as well. She practically started living in the church after the death of her husband but was now nowhere to be seen. Perhaps Perry had informed her that the trouble girl Candace would be visiting today and they decided to meet over at her own home to avoid her.

Sinking back into the hardwood bench, Candace clasped her hands together and hung her head. She felt like a fool for trying to cling onto the good feelings Molly had provided her the other day. It only served to prove that happiness simply wasn't meant for her.

The large doors to the church soon began to creak open from behind but what attracted her attention was the voice that started to echo throughout the empty chamber.

"Oh there you are Candace darling!" Julius's voice rang throughout the room.

She rather unenthusiastically turned in her spot to face him. "J-Julius?"

"I've been looking just about everywhere for you. My, you should have seen the look of surprise on my face when I found you weren't at home today." He laughed with his head thrown back as he casually approached her seat.

Candace reverted back to her original position facing the altar and hung her head down as she felt his words pierce through her skin like it was nothing. "You know I c-come here sometimes…"

"Yes, and sometimes people like to shake things up from time to time now, hm." He replied as he slid into the spot next to her. "I don't think you should blame me for thinking that maybe for once you might go somewhere else for a change."

"I g-guess not…" She admitted in a defeated tone.

"Now, I'm sure that you're just anxious to hear the good news." He snickered. "I know I am to tell it."

"Good news…?" She asked.

He just about leapt from his seat as he stretched his arms out. "The accessory store shall soon once again be open for business!" He declared with a wink. "Now jewelry almost as gorgeous as myself can soon be adorning all of Harmonica's finer residents once more."

For as much as he was absolutely brimming with visible excitement the news failed to put a dent in her dreary attitude.

"But… I thought that Mira d-didn't want to work there. Who t-took over?" She asked.

Julius concealed his mouth as it let out a rather feminine laugh. "Why she did of course. It seems her and that new girl had a much need pep talk and now she's about as chipper as a woman of her age could be."

New girl, could he be referring to Molly?

"That new rancher is quite the little miracle worker I must say." He continued, confirming her unspoken suspicions.

"I d-don't know… I'm sure Perry could have helped her get back to w-work in time…" She replied. As soon as the words left her mouth she started to seriously question why she had just tried to downplay someone else's accomplishment. Given the general inoperative status of the town she should have been grateful to hear that at least someone was managing to land back on their feet. Perhaps Molly's failure to return affected her more negatively than she wanted to believe. Especially since the good news had to do with her.

Was she trying to insult her as a result?

"Oh quiet now; he's just a novice at dealing with people. If he were any better at his job then I'm sure I could have been back to work long ago and you wouldn't be stuck spending so much time in here moping about." He argued.

Candace's head only slumped further down.

"Besides, that's not all she managed to accomplish." He added with a smirk.

Her head slightly crooked up. "What do you mean?"

He glided back down to his spot beside her and placed his arm over her shoulder, pulling her in close, as he started to explain. "My you should have seen it Candace dear, one moment our little would be therapist wondered off into the mine and then next thing you knew a miraculous melody started to ring forth through the area. It was like the very heavens themselves were singing. A coincidence? Perhaps, but I'd like to think there's more to that girl that meets the eye. A shame about her wardrobe though; now that could use some work."

"She… she played a song…?" Candace asked with an unclear image of what exactly had occurred.

"Oh there's more to it than just that." He went on. "Whatever she had done in there to make that music play also caused some mysterious lights and music notes to dance about in the sky as well. It was quite the spectacle. Not as fabulous as myself dare I say but still quite impressive. You should have seen it."

Candace's view drifted off towards the floor. "N-No one told me about i-it…"

"It wouldn't have mattered." He scoffed. "It only lasted for about a minute or two. Even if someone had run all the way to the tailor's to try and tell you by the time you got there it would have been over. It wasn't worth it."

Candace wrapped her arms around herself and looked away. It never seemed like it was worth trying to include her into things. There was some solace in the fact that at least Molly appeared to now have a legitimate excuse for putting her off all week, if Julius's story was indeed true, but her exclusion from yet another event only filled her with more grief.

"D-Do you know why she did it…?" She eventually asked.

"Who's to say?" Julius shrugged. "Though it is rather odd that right after everything was over the fire at Ramsey's started to grow. Perhaps another coincidence?" He pondered with a wink.

Candace looked away again, absorbed in a cloud of confusion.

"I can't really concern myself with any of it though," Julius began. "With the shop just about ready to reopen it's time to once again take the fashion world by storm." He announced proudly with a clenched fist as his eyes beamed. "Like I've told you before, with my impeccable taste for fashion and accessories and you and your sister's extraordinary sewing skills we could easily create ensembles of which the world has never seen before.

Again, Candace sank back into her spot. All she managed to hear him say was "me and your sister…"

"You just think about that now, hm." He said before patting his thighs and standing. "Now then, I told Mira that I wouldn't be gone too long so I must be going. Last thing I need is her worrying about yet another man in her life." He finished with a laugh. "Here's hoping to seeing you again soon dear."

As Julius made his leave Candace continued to sit in silence, unmoving even as the door shut. In the once more empty chapel of the church she tightened her grip around herself and shuddered with grief. With a single gesture that she still didn't fully understand it sounded as though Molly had managed to bring a sense of happiness back to those who had, for a time, long lost it. But if a single act was all it took from her then why was she still so unhappy with herself? Again, she started to think that maybe she just wasn't meant to be happy.

* * *

Later on in the afternoon Candace decided to make her return home. Even as the sun had started to enter the farther reaches of the western side of the sky Perry continued to remain out and about town, leaving her completely alone within the church. She had eventually decided that if she was going to spend yet another day feeling sorry for herself she'd rather do it within her own home rather than someone else's.

Standing before the door to the house she halfheartedly opened it.

"Hi g-grandma…" She faintly greeted.

As she stepped in and turned to shut the door she kept her eyes practically glued to her feet, uncertain if Shelly was actually in the room or not.

Dragging her feet towards the more home orientated side of the building she stopped when Shelly started to call to her from behind the store's counter.

"Oh, there you are Candace." She said.

Candace's eyes shut and tightened for a moment before she started to slowly turn towards her, stopping dead in her tracks when another voice spoke to her.

"Oh! Is that Candace?" Molly asked.

A shiver ran down her spine as her eyes rapidly reopened to spot Molly standing opposite of Shelly.

"Haha, there you are. I was worried I was going to miss you." She told her as Shelly passed her thin, nicely wrapped package. "I told you I'd be back."

"M-M-Molly, h-hello." She nervously stuttered with a slight bow. After spending most of the day believing that Molly would be no good in staying true to her word there she was, standing in the shop. She felt like an absolute monster for even considering that she was a liar who didn't care.

Molly giggled as she slid the package into her rucksack. "How have you been?"

"I… I've been fine…" She answered, certain that her tense state was obvious to her.

"Molly had just stopped in to buy one of your outfits." Shelly explained. "Isn't it great? Our first sale in what's felt like ages."

"How could I resist?" She laughed. "They all look so beautiful. The hard part was picking out just one." She gave a slight giggle. "I wish you could have been here earlier to help me pick one. I'm sure you have an eye for that sort of thing."

A faint blush started to appear on Candace's cheek that the pair likely couldn't see from the distance. Still, she started to scrunch up and retract her head to try and conceal it. "N-no… they're nothing special… really…"

She could see as Shelly began to frown from behind the register while Molly continued to flash a smile.

"If you say so." She smirked. "I still think they look amazing."

Candace started to feel that comforting warmth from the other day start to resurface inside of her.

"Oh! Actually you showed up just in time!" She said while turning to Shelly. "I had almost forgotten to mention but there's going to be a party tomorrow night."

"Oh, a party?" Shelly asked.

"Well, maybe that's not exactly the right word for it but Chase noticed that the strength of all the fires in town seemed to have come back and so him and Hayden want to have a bit of a celebration now that they can cook again." She explained. "It's going to be at the bar tomorrow night if either of you would like to come."

"My, that just sounds lovely." Shelly remarked. "I'm just not sure if a woman of my age should be staying up late so many nights in one season."

"That's alright." Molly smiled. "What about you Candace?"

The whole world felt as though it froze up around her. Never in her life had she ever been invited to a party. As a child she had only managed to partake in family celebrations which was hardly anything like a real one. Even then she mostly took to just sitting in her room, having accepted long ago that she was far too uninteresting to try and participate in the occasion.

"Hm?" Molly questioned.

Candace shook her head to bring her attention back to the question. Her body started to shake as she could feel tears starting to well up in her eyes. It was a simple yes or no question as Shelly had easily demonstrated yet it felt like the most important decision in the world to her at that moment. She knew if she agreed to go there was a high chance that she'd just stay home anyway which would have killed her with guilt since Molly had similarly promised to show up and did. Then if she were to go she'd likely just embarrass herself by trying to fit in or standing off awkwardly in the corner making her look like a complete fool in front of everyone.

But with that gentle smile radiating from Molly's face how could she say no, it practically begged her to say yes.

"Go on Candace, it'll be fun." Shelly said when she continued to remain silent for almost a whole minute.

"Yeah, it'll be great." Molly nodded.

Candace shut her eyes and shook her head again. "N-No… I… I'd rather…" She started to audibly snivel.

She didn't even have the slightest clue as to why she was starting to act up this way, at least to this extreme. "Just say no," her mind kept shouting at her, "just say it." Yet a quiet voice, almost in a whisper, told her otherwise. "Do it," it said softly, "go and have fun for once. Be happy."

The touch of a hand on her shoulder opened her eyes up and brought her head up. Her view locked with Molly's directly in front of her.

"Hey, if you don't want to go, that's alright." She said gently with a smile. "I understand. Some people just don't like parties."

If anyone else had told her that her mind would have easily swapped _people_ with _you_ and _parties_ with _fun_. Of course, because it was Molly who said it she heard it exactly how it was. She had never met a person like this before, someone who could calm her down just by speaking easy and being themselves. It was different than when she'd talk to Luna, Shelly or even Perry. Molly had no reason or duty to care about her feelings and mental wellbeing other than a genuine concern for her.

The look in her eyes seemed to tell her that she understood exactly the kind of trouble she was struggling with as a result of the question and that declining her offered would in no way offend her.

"N-no…" She began to utter out slowly. "I… I'll g-go…"

Molly took a step back with an odd smile on her face. It was a bit uncertain.

She wiped her eyes with her sleeve. "It'll… it'll be fun… right…?"

She tired her hardest to smile but could still feel a few tears streaming down her cheeks. That comforting blush removed from her face.

"Alright, well, I guess I'll see you there." Molly said.

Candace cleared her eyes with her damp sleeve once again; her faux smile remained on her face. Slowly, Molly started to see that Candace was trying her hardest to put on a brave front and that her doubt toward her answer was the exact opposite of what she needed.

"It'll be tomorrow at eight." She told her as the smile on her face started to become more genuine. "Over at Brass Bar, I'm sure you know the place." She laughed to lighten up the mood.

Candace nodded. "Y-Yeah, tomorrow at eight."

"Greet, well, I'll see you then I supposed." Molly said with a wave as she made her way towards the door before stopping. "Oh, and Candace, thanks for making such a cool dress." She gestured towards her backpack. "I'm sure it'll look great."

As Molly left the room and the door shut Candace looked back at the ground and wiped her eyes before looking at Shelly.

The upset expression on her face said it all.

Without a word Candace rushed past the kitchen area of the room and into her room, the devastating sense of embarrassment following her like an enormous weight tied to her leg. If this was the sort of scene she'd make when asked to go to a party she couldn't even imagine the one she'd make if she were to actually follow through with going.


	3. Steppin' Out

Even as time grew further into the following evening Candace remained confined in her room, alone. The crushing weight of embarrassment practically held her down in place atop her bed as she sat there in silence, intending to avoid confronting Shelly for as long as she could. After how she managed to humiliate herself in front of both her and Molly she was certain that this would be the time where even her own grandmother would admit that she was a disgrace. Shelly had been kind enough to give her the alone time she so desperately wanted but Candace knew it was only a matter of time before she'd try to come in the room and start the conversation herself.

The constant grumbling in her stomach from hunger told her as much.

Initially while locked away she had taken to releasing all the pent up tears she had managed to withhold while facing Molly into her pillow but then something managed to soon catch her attention. From the corner of her tearstained eyes that were buried in the cushioned surface she spotted the framed picture that sat on the nightstand between her and Luna's beds. Releasing her pillow from the bear hug she trapped it in she exchanged it for the photo and started to silently examine it.

Even as children you could see that the two sisters were as different as night and day.

On the right you had the young, cheery, and bright Luna. With her hand planted firmly on her hip and a radiant smile painted across her face as she looked dead on at the camera she seemed as though she was ready for anything. Caught around her right arm was Candace who sat next to her. There the blue haired girl stood hunched over with her view focused down on the ground off to the side. Her bangs concealed a sizable portion of her face as she held her hands close to her chest appearing as though she wanted to be anywhere but there. For someone like her there weren't many situations that didn't trigger such a reaction, even now all those years later.

For as long as she could remember she practically idolized her younger sister. Luna was always the successful one, the more outgoing one, the prettier one. In truth she loved her sister dearly and would do anything for her but she knew deep in her heart it was that admiration of her that caused her so much grief. Every task and every situation she faced was met with thoughts of "What would Luna have done to do this better than me," or, "How much easier would this have been if Luna were here to do it?" It was hard to think otherwise when all she really wanted was to be as happy and carefree as her. Any other method of thinking and she would've felt like she was trying to downplay her sister's success in life.

Her mind still stayed fixated on Luna even now as she lingered in the dark. On the edge of her bed she sat beside the small keepsake box she had been using to store the letters Luna had been sending her and Shelly since starting her travels just over a year ago. A majority of its contents were scattered across the bedsheet as she had taken her time alone to go over her sister's various exploits. Meeting new people, seeing new places, surviving on her own, it seemed that Luna truly could do it all. Yet back here in Castanet Candace managed to nearly die from fright when asked to attend a small gathering at the house next door. There was no way she could survive in the real world, let alone compare to her sister at this rate.

Going over one letter in particular about a party Luna had been invited to off in the city Candace let out a deep sigh and set it down on her lap. She tightened her eyes and nearly crumpled the page in her hands as anxiety started to cast itself over her once more. There Luna had managed to be personally invited to the party in question while it seemed that she only got invited to the one over at the bar that evening because she happened to coincidentally be at the right place at the right time. There was no way anybody actually expected to see her there let alone even want to see her.

Finally the anticipated knocking started to sound from the door.

"Candace? Are you alright in there?" She could hear Shelly ask from the other side.

She began to try and take a few deep breaths to calm herself but to no avail.

Without warning Shelly started to open the door just enough for her to poke her head in.

"Why don't you come out in the kitchen? I made some green tea and herb cookies." She told her.

Candace let out a deep sigh and looked over at the doorway before silently nodding. Like any good grandmother it seemed that Shelly knew the easiest way to get her to comply was with her favorite treats. Shelly gave her a smile and slowly shut the door as Candace looked back at the letter in her hands before setting it off to the side atop the pile. She took another moment to try and compose herself before slowly dragging her feet over to the door and out into the kitchen. There Shelly stood beside the kitchen table with a teapot in hand as she started to pour its contents into the two cups placed besides each other.

Without a word Candace shuffled over to the closest empty chair and took a seat.

"Feeling a bit better?" Shelly asked as she handed Candace her green teacup.

Candace looked down at faint reflection of her visible in the liquid before shaking her hand. There was no point in trying to lie in her current state, especially to her own grandmother.

"That's alright." Shelly began as Candace lightly sipped from her cup, starting to visibly tense up in preparation for whatever judgment had to be coming. "You were just a little nervous, that's all. Everybody gets nervous at some point."

Candace slumped back into her seat. That "some point" for her seemed more like "every point".

"If you don't want to go over to the party then that's alright." She continued. "I'm sure Molly will understand. She seems like a nice enough friend that she'd understand that it might not be your sort of thing."

Candace trembled for a moment as she looked back up at her grandma. Did she consider her and Molly friends? Did Molly even consider them friends?

She started to shake her head again.

"N-No… I… I don't know…" She paused. "I-If we're friends…"

"Oh?" She asked. "When she stopped by yesterday she told me all about how you two seemed to really get along the last time she stopped by. It certainly sounds like she considers you a friend."

Candace continued to shake her head. In her memory now all she could see when she thought back to their initial meeting was her humiliating herself in front of her yet again.

Shelly began to frown.

"Come now Candace, she seems like such a nice girl. I don't know why you don't think that she'd like you." She told her. "From what I hear it sounds like she's getting along with everyone nicely."

Sighing, Candace set her cup down and hung her head. To her it seemed like everyone managed to get along with each other well until it came time for her, then they'd want no part of her.

"Here, have a cookie." Shelly said as she slid the plate over to her. "I know how much herb cookies cheer you up."

Candace took one from the top of the batch and examined it. They were indeed her favorite.

"Whatever you decide to do tonight I just want you to know that I think you're a wonderful granddaughter." Shelly smiled. "If you want to stay here or go over to Hayden's that's your decision to make, no one else's. I want you to do whatever feels most comfortable for you."

By then Candace had finished eating and rested her hands in her lap. She looked down at them for a moment before quietly responding.

"I'm g-gonna go…" She answered.

Her answer appeared to catch Shelly by surprise.

"Are you sure?" She asked.

"It wouldn't be fair to Molly i-if I didn't..." She explained, referring to Molly's earlier fulfilled promise of returning to the store.

"Well if you want to go then I won't stop you." Shelly said with a big smile in hopes of evoking a similar reaction in her granddaughter. "I'm sure it'll be plenty of fun."

Candace looked at her and slowly managed to break out a slight smile but once she seemed to realize what she was doing she snatched her teacup back up and went back to drinking. Her eyes wandered off to the window to see that the sun was just only starting to set. There was still a bit of time to back out if she started to get cold feet, at least more so than she already did.

* * *

About almost two hours later as Shelly took to tiding up the shop portion of their home Candace stood silently for what felt like ages in front of the door. The clock up on the wall in the kitchen told her that she was already running fifteen minutes late and she was struggling to determine whether or not it was worth showing up late or just not at all. Her mind told her that since nobody had come to check on her they clearly didn't want her there but at the same time she was starting to understand that if she wanted to finally have fun in life she needed to learn how to put herself out there.

" _Just take it slow on your way there."_ She finally thought to herself. _"Think it over then._ "

Giving herself a nod she could feel as her body constantly trembled with anxiety in anticipation for the "long" walk ahead of her. It was only just the house next door over the bridge but to her it felt like it was miles away.

"Heading out?" She heard Shelly ask from behind a display rack as she took notice of her presence in front of the door.

Candace slowly turned to face her but kept her view off to the side elsewhere.

"Y-Yeah…" She answered.

"Have fun dear, I'm sure you will." Shelly told her. "Say hi to everyone for me will you?"

Candace's eyes glanced up at her as she gave a weak smile before turning back to the door. There was no backing out now. Her hand shook as she brought it up to the doorknob and slowly began to twist it open. As she sluggishly made her way through the doorway it felt like she was walking through an earthquake as her entire body refused to remain still. She turned to face the door as she closed it shut and stayed there for a moment with her hands on it. Maybe she could just stay there for a while and then just go back in pretending she had gone out. After all she doubted anyone would know the difference.

Her briefly thought out plan quickly fell apart, however, when a certain chipper voice came from behind.

"Candace! Hey!" Molly greeted from what sounded like a close distance away.

Her heart nearly leapt out of her body from surprise as she jolted once more. Spinning on her heels she turned to spot Molly approaching her from the trail leading out to the farmlands. In the dim light she could see that her getup consisted of a short salmon-colored silk dress with a pair of black shorts underneath as opposed to her usual attire.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to surprise you like that." She giggled. "Were you just heading over to the bar?"

Candace nervously gave her a nod. "Y-Yeah…"

"Ha, I guess we're both running late then huh. Wanna head there together?" She asked.

Candace gave another nod only this time it wasn't as visibly nervous. "Sure…"

"Great!" Molly beamed with a smile. "Shall we?"

Molly resumed heading off towards the bridge as Candace continued to remain frozen in place. If she thought there was no turning back after she had told Shelly she was leaving there was definitely no chance now. Yet, still her feet refused to budge a single inch. Soon Molly looked back and saw as she failed to move from her spot in front of the doorway, her eyes glued down at the ground.

"You okay?" She asked.

Without a word Candace took a deep breath and started to slowly make her way over to Molly.

"Yeah, I'm f-fine..." She replied.

She looked up at Molly to see that she had that typical look of concern on her face. It took all of her willpower to be able to form a smile convincing enough to tell her she truly was alright. She simply smiled back and the pair began to walk the short distance to the bar.

"Candace, I just want to... well… I'm really glad you decided to come out tonight." Molly timidly said.

"Huh?" Candace looked over at her, confused as ever. Did she really not expect her to show up?

"It's… it's nothing." Molly said while shaking her head as they approached the doors to the Brass Bar.

From outside they could already hear the sound of conversation coming from inside, drawing intrigue from Molly while filling Candace with more fear. It sounded like a good portion of the town was inside, creating a good audience for any slight screw up she might make. She wanted to tell Molly she was starting to feel sick or something or anything else that would give her an excuse to return home. Unfortunately for her Molly was too quick and opened the door before even a peep could escape her lips.

"Hey everyone." Molly greeted with a smile as she walked in with Candace practically hiding behind her.

The crowd of faces around the table beside the bar all turned to face her.

"Molly, we were wondering when you were going to show up!" They all just about greeted at once.

"Alright, Molly's here! That means you can finally start cooking right Chase?" Luke anxiously asked. "I've been waiting to eat _all_ day."

"Aw, you waited for me? You really shouldn't have." Molly laughed. "I have a tendency to run late to things like this."

"Oh I insisted." Chase said with a wink. "Now let me see if I can't whip us all up something appetizing. It's been so long."

Maya giggled and followed him over to the kitchen area. "Maybe I should give you a hand then." She suggested much to his visible annoyance.

"Molly, come and sit with us." Renee said from her spot at the table besides Toby, Phoebe and Owen. She patted the vacant chair at her side.

Molly smiled and walked over to the empty seat, exposing Candace for everyone to see.

"My now, is that Candace I see there?" Julius asked as he poked his head out from behind Mira and Barbara. "What a surprise this is."

Suddenly Candace could feel as everyone's gaze fell upon her. It felt like they were all tiny little daggers trying to pierce her skin. She started to scrunch herself up, almost like a turtle hiding in its shell for protection. What hurt her more, though, was that Julius's presence meant that he likely had known about the party when they had conversed back at the church the previous afternoon. She started to remember his words about it not being worth inviting her to partake in certain festivities and how worthless she must truly be.

"Come on Candace, chat with us." She heard Molly call from her seat.

Her body trembling once more, she looked over at Molly as she gestured for her to come take the last empty spotaround the table.

"N-No… I'm alright here…" She replied back.

Molly gave a slight frown. "You sure?"

Candace looked around and saw that no one else had their attention on her before nodding.

Molly seemed to hesitate before returning back to whatever conversation was occurring amongst the group while Candace looked down at her hands as she started fiddling with her sleeves, unsure of what to do next.

"Candace." She heard Kathy say as she approached her.

Naturally, her body received a jolt as she looked over at her.

"Can I get you anything to drink?" She asked.

"N-no… I don't d-drink…" She stuttered back.

Kathy gave a smirk. "Oh don't worry about any of that. Till the boat gets running again all we have is just water or juice."

"I-I'll just have a water then." Candace replied.

"You got it." Kathy winked before heading back to the bar.

As she left to retrieve her drink Candace looked about the room, watching as everyone conversed with each other. Everyone had a smile on their face, yet her expression was blank.

"Here you are." Kathy said as she returned with a small glass of water, handing it off to her with a slight laugh. "Hope you enjoy."

Candace just quietly nodded and took a sip as Kathy returned back to her father's side, leaving her alone again. She again looked over the room, listening as it filled with conversation and laughter, everyone was happy. Her thoughts started to go back to Luna and what she would be doing if she were in her shoes. She wouldn't just be standing off against the wall by herself, no, she'd be out there talking with everyone, sharing in their laughter.

Why was it so hard for her to do the same?

She sighed and thought about just slinking out the door since nobody would notice but that gentle voice in her mind started speaking to her again. "You can do it!" It cheered. "Just go up and start talking to someone."

Slowly her feet started to shuffle across the floor towards the spot Molly had pointed out to her earlier. Though it was still empty when she reached it nobody at the table even seemed to notice as she sat down.

"I don't know." Molly started in response to some question she seemed to have been asked. She paused for a moment and nervously bounced her eyes around before continuing. "There's… there's some things I miss about the city but, well, it's just so much nicer out here. Everyone's friendly, it's all calm, I like it."

"Well we all gotta be sure to stick together, especially in hard times like this." Owen told her as most everyone in the room nodded their heads.

"Yeah, besides, even when things were nicer here I don't think anyone was actually really mean to each other." Phoebe added.

"Yeah, it's one of the things I just love about Castanet. You'll never find a more accepting and friendly group of people." Renee smiled as she clapped her hands together.

"Good, good. It sounds like I'm in the right place then." Molly laughed with a faint sense of nervousness.

Candace on the other hand sank back into her seat as she typically did, still unnoticed.

"I have to say though, I really like your dress tonight Molly." Renee then said. Delicately, she reached out and grabbed the fabric of the dress around her waist, examining it carefully. "It's so pretty."

"Oh this?" She asked as she looked down at the garment in question. "Yeah, I saw it at the tailors the other day and just had to have it. Candace made it."

Candace immediately perked up at the mention of her name.

"Candace?" Molly asked as she looked over in the direction of where she once stood. When she couldn't find her she started to quickly scan the room, almost becoming startled when she saw her right at her side. "OH! There you are."

Suddenly all eyes appeared to be on her again.

"Is it true? Did you make it?" Renee asked.

"Yeah, it looks so good." Phoebe added.

Candace felt so nervous she couldn't speak. Everyone's comments sound sincere but her mind wanted to believe there was some kind of ulterior motive to it all. Her gaze fell upon Molly who started to gesture with her head for her to answer.

"Y-Yeah… I m-made it…" She admitted quietly.

"That's amazing!" Renee beamed.

"I must say when it comes to the fashion scene she definitely has a gift." Julius laughed with a wink.

"Yeah, I really like the color on that one." Barbara added.

"Wow! You make anything that good looking for guys?" Luke asked with a laugh.

"Hm, I haven't been over to your guy's place since I think Luna left. Maybe I should stop in again and see what you've all got now." Kathy said.

"Oh, Luna. How is she?" Mira asked.

"Yeah, I don't think any of us have heard from her since she's left. Is she doing alright?" Yolanda asked.

With each mention of her sister's name as everyone began to focus on her Candace slide further down in her seat. Once again she found herself cast in the shadow of her more successful sibling. In her fit of oncoming depression she failed to note as Molly looked back and forth between her and everyone else with regret.

With her fifteen minutes over in a blink she sadly picked up her glass from the table and started to quietly sip from it as everyone started to converse among themselves again. They didn't even seem interested in any answers she might have. She couldn't even ask what Luna would be doing in a situation like this since she'd just be able to bask in the attention everyone seemed eager to give her. Sighing she looked on as everyone continued to chat with one another.

They were all talking about their lives, their jobs, laughing amongst themselves. What did she know about any of that? She never ventured out of the tailor shop to know what was new in town and did nothing but sew while she sat at home. Nobody wanted to hear about that.

With another sigh she looked over to her side at Molly as Chase came out and set a small plate of marinated fish in front of her.

"There you are, first serving just for you." He said with a slight grin.

"Oh, um, thank you, haha." Molly laughed.

"Come on Chase. I'm _starving_ over here!" Luke complained as he jokingly banged his fists down on his table.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's coming, just a minute." Chase muttered. "Now who else wanted food." He started to look about the room at everyone. "You, Phoebe, Mira… Candace?"

She quickly spun in her spot to face him.

"Did you want anything to eat?" He asked.

"O-Oh, no… no… I'm fine…" She answered despite her stomach's protests.

Chase didn't follow up with any sort of response directed at her, leaving her to sit there in silence again.

"This is really good!" She heard Molly exclaim from her side. "My compliments to the chef." She giggled before noticing as Candace turned to her. "You sure you don't want any of this? It's really good."

As terrible and selfish of a though it was hearing Molly praise someone else's work in the same way she had her clothing made it seem like her previous compliments weren't as genuine as she'd once thought. Now it just seemed like something she'd tell everyone.

She shook her head. "No t-thanks."

Molly frowned at her once again. "If you say so…"

Once again, conversation amongst the group resumed without even giving her a second thought.

* * *

Without a clock in the room Candace hadn't the slightest clue how much time she had spent simply sitting in silence beside everyone. She could take some relief in the fact that she managed to not embarrass herself in front of everyone but even if she did do something would anybody even notice her at this point? As they all continued to chatter with one another she stood from her seat and made her way towards the door. By this point there was no reason in staying if she wasn't going to bother making an attempt to do anything.

As she took her first few steps outside she looked up in the night sky to see that it was probably fairly late into the night. At least Shelly wouldn't question why she was coming back so early. She only took a few steps away from the door before she heard it start to reopen from behind.

"Candace?" She heard Molly asked.

She turned to watch as she exited the bar as well.

"Are you leaving?" She asked, a hint of sadness carried in her voice.

Candace closed her eyes and hung her head. "Yeah…"

Molly took a moment before speaking again. "Are… are you tired? Not feeling well?"

She shook her head.

"Oh, well… do you want to maybe take a quick walk?" She asked.

"A w-walk?" She asked.

"Yeah, if you want you know." She replied somewhat nervously.

Candace looked back at her home just a short distance away. She wanted to just go and forget that she had even tried to be social for once in her life but that feeling of guilt towards letting Molly down continued to creep up on her. She felt like she owed it her to try and interact with someone.

"Sure." She answered quietly.

"Really? Oh, well, alright, thanks." Molly said as she turned in the direction of the nearby pier. "Come on, we can just go down to the little beach area."

Without a word Candace scooted up behind Molly and followed. Neither of them spoke during the short walk over to their destination and once there Candace mimicked Molly in taking a seat atop the sand along the shoreline. She kept her focus on Molly as she seemed hesitant to speak.

"Hey… I'm… I'm really sorry about putting you on the spot like that…" She eventually sighed.

Candace wasn't entirely sure what she meant. "Huh?"

"Yesterday when I asked you to come… and then in the bar when I told them all about how you made this dress… I, I didn't know it would make you so nervous." She explained. It was clear from her tone that it was something that deeply troubled her. "I shouldn't have done that… I'm sorry…"

Candace felt taken aback with grief. Did she really cause her this much stress?

"It's just, I wanted you to come. I wanted everyone to, really. I would have felt terrible if I invited everyone but you." She continued.

Candace's hung her head and turned away. It seems she really was just invited out of pity.

"Not like that though! Not like that!" Molly clarified. "It's just… you seem really nice… I wanted to make sure you got included in on the fun…"

She brought her knees up to her face and wrapped her arms around them in a tight grip. "N-No… it's fine…" She said for what felt like the hundred time. "Really…"

"I've been a terrible friend to you lately haven't I?" She asked.

Candace looked at her in disbelief. Did she actually just call her a _friend_?

"I just… I'm sorry…" Molly sighed. "If… if it makes you feel better, well, I thought it was really brave of you to come out tonight."

"What do you m-mean...?" She asked.

"I saw how nervous you got when I asked you yesterday and well, like I said then, I figured that parties… aren't exactly your thing…" She explained. "So… I thought it was really brave of you to come out of your comfort zone and do something like that… while just being yourself… you know, you didn't try to be someone you weren't tonight and... I thought that was really brave... "

At that moment Candace felt like she was going to cry but for once it was going to be tears of happiness. In embarrassment she looked away towards the wide sea stretched out before them.

"I… I wish I could have as much courage as you about… well, certain things…" Molly whispered loud enough for Candace to hear.

Candace was too preoccupied with trying to remain composed to truly notice as it felt as though Molly started to somewhat slide closer to her. After only moving about an inch or so she hesitated before scooting back to her original spot just as Candace looked at her. On her face was a look of intense confusion as she stared out at the water. Her eyes bounced around as she appeared to be in deep thought about something that seemed to be troubling her.

"I… I should probably head back." Molly finally said.

Candace watched as she rose to her feet and slowly stood up with her. Molly looked back at the road towards Harmonica Town returning her view to Candace. They stared at each other in silence for a moment before Molly quickly wrapped her arms around Candace for a hug. She had no idea how to react as Molly pulled her in tightly for what felt like the longest second of her life before releasing her. Without a word Molly stood in front of her for another moment before backing away and heading off towards the bar at a hurried pace.

Still, all Candace's mind could focus on at that moment was that she actually had someone willing to call her a friend.


	4. Letters Then Lunch

All throughout the night Candace tossed and turned in her bed as countless thoughts bounced about her head. She could feel a deeply concealed sense of excitement brewing within herself concerning the fact that she now had an "official" friend for once but she was also left questioning what was she supposed to do next? Was she supposed to make sure they saw each other every day? Every few days? Did she have to break free from her shell and becoming more outgoing if she wanted to stay friends? She had so many questions and no experience with the matter.

Her heart was also still aflutter at the idea that Molly considered her to be an inspiration of bravery. All her life she had looked at people like her or Luna as being brave for being able to go out and be so sociable. She couldn't be braver than them could she? It simply didn't seem possible.

And then there was her confusion concerning that hug Molly had given her. She wanted to simply consider it a parting gesture but there was something odd about the way she had pulled her in close. Maybe it was just the way friends did it; she'd have no way of knowing that.

Anxiety also wasn't too far from her bedside either.

By the time she had left the beach and returned home she found that Shelly had already retired for the evening. Naturally, and without any special care, she silently maneuvered herself throughout the house to her room but nearly let out a gasp when she found that Shelly had taken to clearing away all of Luna's letters from atop her bed and filing them away neatly in their box. Now she was left to wonder if she just assumed that she had gone through all of them because she needed something to pass the time or if there was a more significant reason for doing so. With the image of that specific letter about the party Luna had attended sitting atop the pile in her mind she knew her grandmother would be smart enough to know it was the latter.

Now it was just an agonizing wait until the morning to see if she would bring it up in any way.

When Candace awoke later that day she found that the room had remained as dark and dreary as it had been when she first crawled under her covers. A quick glance towards the window revealed that the sky was coated with a thick overcast that prevented the typical view of a sunbathed room that'd usually be present when she awoke. Not to mention it prevented her from giving a good guess as to what time it even was.

Still clad in her cerulean colored silk nightgown, she rose out of her bed and slid into the pair of slippers at its side before wandering off into the kitchen. There she found Shelly beside the sink in the process of cleaning up some dishes. She turned to face her granddaughter with a bright smile as she heard the door open. An expected gesture, if anything, but Candace still managed to find herself somewhat startled by her quick response.

"Good morning Candace." She smiled before breaking out into a slight laugh "Or should I say afternoon."

A faint gasp escaped Candace's lips as she covered her mouth and gazed over at the clock over the counter to see that it was already a quarter past noon.

"It must have been quite the party last night." She remarked as her focus started to shift back to cleaning. "You had to have been out pretty late; I didn't even hear when you came back."

Candace's eyes began to rapidly bounce about the room in a panic. Despite being well past an age that required a curfew she felt as though she had just committed some great injustice. She hadn't the slightest clue what time it was when she returned home from the beach, let alone when she first stepped out of the bar. Sleeping in so late could at least for the most part be blamed on her inability to fall asleep most of the night.

"Did you have fun?" Shelly asked.

Not even five minutes up and Candace already felt as though she had been backed into a corner from which there was no easy way out. Was she supposed to just lie and say that she did despite it being painfully obvious that wasn't the case? Or was it time for her to come clean and admit to what a failure in life she was? To her it had been worth going to at least learn that she did have at least one friend in Molly but she could hardly mention that to Shelly. Not when she already believed that that had been the case.

She began to twiddle around with her fingers and stared off to her side, her head starting to withdrawn into her body. "I g-guess…" She finally responded with, hoping that it would be the middle ground answer she needed.

Shelly just smiled and began to sort the dishes away. "Well that's always good to hear. Did anything exciting happen?"

"N-No!" She nearly shouted, still unwilling to tell speak about her conversation with Molly. It was the only worthwhile thing to come out of the previous night yet sadly it felt like something she had to keep a compete secret. Admitting that it was the first time she actually managed to make a friend just seemed pathetic for someone her age. "N-Nothing… nothing happened."

Shelly raised an eyebrow at her as doubt came over her face. "Well, if you insist. I just hope it was a good time is all."

Candace's view trailed off to the side as facing her own grandmother started to fill her with anxiety. Her eyes settled upon the table barren table beside her as Shelly gave a slight giggle.

"Oh! I had no idea when to expect you up so I just made myself a small brunch." She apologized.

Almost like a wilting flower Candace felt her body's posture sink at the feeling as though her own grandmother didn't care enough to even feed her. "It's a-alright…" She sighed.

"I just put some toast and jam away in the fridge if you'd like to have that. I'll be over watching over the shop if you need me." Shelly said as she stated to walk over towards the area in question. Just as she passed the wall that divided up the house she stopped and momentarily popped back into the kitchen.

"Oh, and before I forget, I was thinking that maybe it's about time we wrote a letter back to Luna." She began as a chill ran straight down Candace's spine. "It's been so long since we've talked to her and I'm sure she'd love to hear from us."

Candace's hands clenched into fists as she tried to remain calm. It seemed that this was how Shelly intended to reference the letters she'd found strewn across her bed. Had she requested that they write to Luna at any other point she would have likely been fine with it, a little glum since she'd then be forced to compare her own inadequacies to her, but fine. Now it felt like she was just being punished for the stupid mistake of leaving her letters out for her to see.

"I'm sure she'd love to hear about what's been going on here now that things are starting to get a bit livelier." Shelly added as she turned back towards the shop. "Perhaps you could tell her about that party you went to last night."

Alone in the room, Candace brought her hands up to her face and buried her eyes in her fists. Last night, if only for that brief moment she spent on the beach, she felt as though she was on top of the world. Never in her life had she been more delighted than when she discovered that there was actually somebody who actually liked her as a friend.

Now, she felt as though she was back in that dark corner of existence where nobody cared about her.

With a heavy sigh she dropped her arms to her side and started to drag her feet across the floor towards the fridge. Assembling a small breakfast made out of the toast Shelly had mentioned and a piece of fruit she seated herself at the table and ate in silence, unable to shake off the feeling that the entire world was growing darker by the minute. Once finished, she crept back into her room and dressed herself for yet another day of solitude in the house. At least the looming threat of rain gave her an excuse to remain in doors.

Over on the shop side of the home Shelly was off behind the counter dusting it off. She turned to face Candace as she slowly entered.

"I don't think anyone will be stopping by today with this nasty weather coming in. What can you do?" She remarked with a sigh. Suddenly she gave a brief chuckle. "Perhaps you should have advertised some of your clothes yesterday. Maybe that would've helped."

Candace's head withdrew into her body with each step she took towards the sewing station. It was obvious that Shelly's comment was meant to be taken as a lighthearted joke and nothing more but any little friendly jab seemed able to penetrate her thin skin like a knife. She thought back to how for a brief second Molly had brought everyone's attention to the dress she had crafted and how the topic instantly became about Luna. It looked as though no one really did care about her designs.

Unwilling to respond to Shelly's comment she simply sat down on the stool in front of her work area and silently looked amongst the various fabrics and materials scattered atop it. Her resolve to try and create something was crushed by the thought that nobody was going to ever bother considering wearing any of them. In an effort to try and motive herself she started to rummage through the mess to see if she could maybe receive a spark of inspiration when her suddenly the sight of red filled her eyes. Hesitantly, she gripped the cloth she had spotted and pulled it out from under the mound it was hidden under to see that it was the torn scarf she had started when she first met Molly.

Just the very sight of it felt as though she had violently ripped the scab off an unhealed wound. It should have been a simple project for someone like her who'd managed to craft far more complicated dresses and shirts but, like she had said before, she still managed to screw it up. She hadn't created an outfit in almost half a year due to the lack of sales at the shop and now it appeared that her talent was slipping. How could she hope to design the kinds of clothes everyone seemed to expect out of her if she couldn't even make a simple scarf?

She set it down in front of her and rested her hands atop it as her head san into its common position. The waterworks felt as though they were about to start but she managed to keep enough of a grip on herself to suppress them as doing so in front of Shelly would have only caused her further embarrassment. If anything she was certain she could hear her uncontrollable sniveling from across the room at the very least. As the sound of the door opening from the other side of the room behind her drowned out the sounds of her incoherent sorrow she refused to turn back around and acknowledge it.

"Colleen, why isn't this a pleasant surprise." She heard Shelly greet.

"Haha, it's been awhile since I've stopped by hasn't it?" Colleen asked as Candace could hear her start approaching the counter.

"That it has, that it has. What brings you here today?" Shelly asked.

"Well like I said it's been awhile since I stopped by so I thought I'd pop in to say hi." She explained before diverting her path towards one of the clothing racks. "Plus I heard from Yolanda and Maya that that Molly girl had gotten quite the nice dress from here and I thought it'd see some of these designs for myself." She started to sort through one of the piles atop a counter. "My, these are gorgeous."

Candace heard as Shelly stepped away from behind the counter over towards Colleen. "Oh that must have been the cute dress she bought the other day. That was the one you made wasn't it Candace?"

As expected a shudder ran through Candace's body as she heard her name being called. Slowly, she turned in her seat to see both Shelly and Colleen staring at her, waiting for a response.

"Yeah… it w-was mine…" She meekly answered.

Colleen gave a comforting smile while Shelly turned her attention to the displays sprinkled around the room. "Now that I think about it I think most of these outfits are your designs as well. Luna's been gone for so long now that I think we've run out of designs of hers to display."

"Ah, Luna, how is she by the way?" Colleen asked. "Is she having a good time out on her travels?"

Candace turned back to face the wall as her head hung in defeat once more. Yet again the focus on her couldn't seem to last a mere minute before she became overshadowed by her sister.

"She seems to be enjoying her time abroad." Shelly answered with a smile, unware of the cloud her words were casting over Candace. "Last I heard it sounded like she was finally starting to find a school she might like to attend out in the city."

Colleen started to wander about the room, taking in all the various designs on display, as Shelly followed closely behind. "What was she looking to get into out there again? Fashion?"

"That's what she said in her last letter. I don't know why you'd need to go to some fancy school far away from home to learn about that but she seems to be enjoying herself out there at least. I'm sure it's been a great learning experience as a whole as well." Shelly replied. "Me and Candace were actually thinking about writing to her again fairly soon, isn't that right?"

Candace bunched the torn scarf in her hands and tried not to cry as she simply nodded from her spot, certain that they were watching her again.

"It's nice that you all are able to stay in contact with each other so well. I heard from Ruth the other day that Anissa hardly manages to ever get back to them when they write." Colleen said as her and Shelly started to drift over towards the kitchen.

"Well that's no good. I think it's nice to keep in touch when you're so far away. It helps remind us what a strong family we are." Shelly remarked. "Now how about I brew us up some tea? It's seems perfect for a chat with weather like this."

"That sounds lovely." Colleen laughed.

As the two women switched over to the kitchen and continued to gossip Candace remained in the corner, all alone. It began to feel just like the night before where she was left to sit in silence while everybody else talked with one another and enjoyed themselves. All she could think about was how Shelly had mentioned how she felt that they were both part of a strong family. Their family couldn't be strong if one-third of it was made up of such a weak girl like her.

She glanced over at the window as the grey clouds above remained in the sky, unsure whether to unleash their burden or not. With the tailor shop filled with the reminder of her previous failure and the house portion with talk about anything but her she felt unwanted in her own home. Her head still wilted, she rose from her corner and slowly made her way over to the door.

"Candace, would you like some tea as well?" Shelly asked as she spotted her from the kitchen. "I have an extra cup here if you'd like."

Candace wrapped her arms around herself and shook her head. "No thank you… I… I think I-I'm going to go out f-for a bit."

"In this weather?" She asked as she glimpsed out the kitchen window. "Why it looks like it could rain any second."

"I'll be f-fine." She responded. She placed her hand on the doorknob and proceeded to step outside.

"At least bring an umbrella!" Shelly shouted to her as the door shut behind her. She turned to face Colleen and gave a worried look.

* * *

Outside Candace looked up at the sky and sulked. It seemed like the weather was the only thing as gloomy as her but there was hardly a way for her to connect with that. Somberly, she started to drag her feet off in the direction of the chapel to likely waste another day up there when a strange chiming started to fill her ears. Looking back towards the direction of the farmlands where it seemed to be coming from she paused and listened the sound grew louder. It was a strangely enchanting melody that appeared to be singing throughout all of Castanet. Could this be similar to what Julius had described to her the other day in the chapel?

Curiosity managed to get the better of her and she subconscious found herself wandering down the trail towards the source of this mysterious song as it began to slowly fade away. It was only at the edge of Harmonica Town that the sound completely vanished from the area, snapping her out of its almost hypnotic trance. She paused for a moment and thought about just turning back and going to the church as she had originally planned now that she hadn't a clue where she was headed but then she started to remember what else Julius had said to her.

 _"I don't think you should blame me for thinking that maybe for once you might go somewhere else for a change."_

Perhaps what she needed a change of scenery from her usual spot at either home or the church. With short steps she slowly started to resume her walk off towards the farmlands. Upon crossing the bridge and continuing down the trail for a short bit she came across Molly's home and stopped.

The amount of times she had managed to come out this far before could probably be counted on just one hand.

The last time she had passed through the area was to attend the moon viewing festival with Luna a few years ago just before she decided to leave Castanet. With none of the regions younger population in the dating mood they treated the festival as more of a social gathering than a romantic event. Similar to her view on the party the night before Candace had wanted to take no part in the festivities but Luna managed to convince her to tag along. For most of the night she silently stood off to her sister's side as she chatted with everybody, much like she had with Molly. It was why she was so reluctant to write back to Luna and fulfill Shelly's request to tell her about the party.

Luna was off exploring the world constantly growing and experiencing new things while she remained at home unchanged after all this time. It made her feel absolutely pathetic.

Her body started to sink again as her mind said to just go back home and admit defeat when, out of nowhere as was becoming typical of her, she heard Molly's voice call out to her.

"Candace? Is that you?" She shouted.

With a trademark shudder Candace turned towards the direction of the trail leading to Flute Fields to spot Molly waving as she headed her way.

"Hey, how's it going?" She asked with a slight giggle.

"F-Fine…" She answered back as she started to retract into her body. Her overwhelming anxiety seemed inescapable, even when facing someone she was slowly starting to realize didn't need to be feared.

"I'm glad to hear it." Molly smiled as she now stood directly in front of Candace, apparently unaffected by her emanating sense of unease. It appeared that she hoped that simple acting calm and friendly would be enough to comfort her.

Candace stood and silently observed Molly as she did the same, still with a smile. A part of her wanted to say that she had to be on her way and make a hasty retreat home but Molly's noticeable friendly attitude kept her glued in her spot. She desperately wanted to try and learn what it was like to have a friend and this was her chance to finally do it. Yet she failed to think of a single thing to say.

"So what brings you out this way?" Molly finally asked in an effort to start a conversation herself.

Candace's mind went blank. Her thoughts had become a jumbled mess of shame and self-loathing since she first spotted Molly's house that she couldn't even remember why she had ventured out this far in the first place.

"I was… just walking…" She answered when no other reason came to her.

"On a day like this and without an umbrella? Sheesh Candace, you're braver than I thought." Molly said with a laugh.

An intense blush came across Candace's face and she tried to cover it up while shaking her head. "N-No! No, no, no, no, no!"

"Hahaha, relax Candace, I'm only kidding." Molly giggled.

Her heart sank. Did this mean that Molly didn't actually believe she had courage?

"Oh… I see…" She quietly responded as a faint rumble of thunder came from the distance.

"Are you doing anything right now?" Molly asked bringing Candace's view back up to her. "Maybe you'd like to… I don't know, hang out or something?"

Candace's heart began to rise and beat at a furious pace. It was just like when she had been asked to attend the party at that bar. She had never been asked something like this before only it was worse than last time because this seemed to be a more private situation. Would she really have what it takes to keep Molly's interest?

"It's alright if you don't, I understand if you have work you need to do or something." Molly told her, seeming to have picked up on her hesitance to answer. "Those cool designs are going to knit themselves."

Candace shut her eyes and brought her view down to her feet. All she could see in her mind now was the ripped scarf sitting on the sewing station.

"No… no… I… I don't have anything else to do…" She sighed as she looked back up at Molly, hoping the red tint her eyes now carried wasn't visible. More than anything she just wished to be away from her home and all its unhappy reminders. If that meant having to put on a brave front for once in her life and try to be someone's friend then it was a risk she was surprisingly willing to take.

Molly started to smile as another grumble of thunder made itself heard, drawing her attention towards the distance.

"We should probably head inside somewhere before it rains." She suggested before making her way down the path leading back towards Harmonic Town. "Come on, I was actually on my way to the inn to go and grab some lunch. You can join me."

* * *

As the pair headed back into town the clouds hanging above only grew darker, matching Candace's increasing sense dread as they made their approach on the inn. All she could think about was Colleen's stop over at the tailor's just a short while back and how she had likely without a doubt embarrassed herself as she practically fled the house. As much courage as Molly would like to believe she possessed it was hardly enough to face Colleen again without fear of only embarrassing herself again, especially now that she knew what a disappointment she was.

Much like at the bar, Molly lead the way inside as Candace stuck close to her back, hoping to shield herself from whatever nonexistent dangers lied within.

"Hello? Anyone here?" Molly called out.

Candace poked her head out from behind her to observe the empty lobby before l Maya stuck her own head out from behind the kitchen wall. Caught by surprise, Candace let out a gasp and hid right back behind Molly, almost like a frightened child.

"Hey Molly, I'm back over here." She waved.

"Oh! Hey there Maya." Molly said as she wandered over towards the counter. "How are you today?"

Candace remained motionless in front of the doorway before rushing back over to Molly's side.

"I'm doing alright, just trying to fine tune my cooking skills is all, you know, the usual." She answered. "What about you?"

"Same I guess. I was in the mood for something to eat and thought I'd pop in here to see what you've got if that's alright." Molly replied. "I brought Candace along with me too."

Maya glanced over Molly's shoulder to spot Candace still hiding behind her. "Hey Candace." She smiled. "I almost didn't see you there, hehe. Are you hungry too?"

Molly's gave a slight gasp and turned to face. "Oh! I completely forgot to ask."

Candace started to scrunch up, upset at the revelation of being neglected once more. "I… I think I'm g-good…"

"You sure?" Maya asked before giggling. "You know my cooking isn't _that_ bad."

She shook her head. "I'm a-alright… really…"

Molly laughed as she brought a chair from the table over to the kitchen's counter. "Now who says that? Well, aside from your parents. I think it's pretty alright actually."

"Hm, well you know that Chase, always thinking he's some master level chef or something." Maya said with a laugh before starting to grin. "Speaking of Chase for that matter, I think someone here was getting a little bit of the _special_ treatment from him."

"What do you mean by that?" Molly asked as she smiled, well aware of the answer.

"Oh I think you know. The way he waited for you to show up before cooking and how he gave you the first dish." She replied in a sing-songy way. "I think someone might have a little crush on you."

"You really think so?" She laughed. It was faint, but a blush began to appear on her cheeks.

"I don't know, you tell me." Maya said with another grin. "Think you might like him?"

Molly started to give a laugh that carried a thin hint of nervousness, much like she had at the party. "I… I don't know. I mean, well… I'm not sure I'm his, er, _type_ , I guess."

"Not interested in cooks eh?" Maya asked in a playful manner as she laughed as well.

"Haha, yeah, sure. Let's go with that." Molly answered in a similar tone. "I'm just… not sure I guess if I'm ready to be in a relationship right now you know? I need to… er, think some things over first."

"Oh I totally know what you mean." Maya began with a nod. "I told myself I wouldn't start looking for someone until I get my cooking skills all figured out." She started to giggle. "My grandma says the best way to a man's heart is his stomach and it might be a little old fashion but if it worked for her why not."

"I guess we both got to get our lives figured out first huh?" Molly laughed before turning back to Candace who had remained still a few feet away from the counter all this time. "What about you Candace?"

She shook as being ignored for so long had caused her mind to wander; she had hardly been paying any attention to the conversation at hand. "W-What…?"

"Are you interested in anyone?" Molly asked.

"Yeah, do you have a special someone you're eyeing?" Maya wondered.

Candace's cheeks turned about as red as a tomato.

"N-N-N-No!" She nervously shouted.

She wasn't completely sure if she found herself more uneasy or upset by the question. Having managed to belittle herself at every opportunity was convinced that she was essentially the most undesirable person in the world. Who would want to date her?

Yet, at the same time, their questioning made her realize that that didn't stop her from being able to find interest in someone else. But who was there to receive her affection if they even wanted it? When she thought about it she had never really felt any sort of attraction to anyone. Was the concept of attraction just lost upon her?

"Nobody?" Molly asked.

"Yeah, what about Julius? You always seem to be hanging out with him from time to time." Maya noted.

"No, I… I d-don't think he likes me like t-that…" Candace sighed. How on earth could she think otherwise when all their conversations were basically either him talking about himself, fashion, or just about insulting her and damaging her self-esteem.

"Hey, that's alright. It's one of those things that happens differently for everyone." Molly told her. "Sometime when the time is right you'll see."

Maya nodded her head. "Yeah, just you wait and see Candace, someday…" She paused and began to sniff the air out of curiosity. "What's that weird smell all of the sudden…?"

Molly raised an eyebrow and took a deep breath through her nose. "Yeah, that is weird…"

"Strange… it almost smells like…" Maya slowly turned back to the kitchen to spot the cloud of smoke flowing out from the oven. "My pie!" She shrieked.

Quickly she ran up to the stove and turned down all its dials before snagging a nearby oven mitt and opening up to stove. Thick black smoke erupted out of the appliance as Maya removed the scorching pie tin from inside of it and quickly threw it on the counter. Coughing from the fumes, Maya waved her hand about to clear them away to reveal the ruined apple pie.

"Well would you look at that." She sighed in a defeated tone.

"I'm so sorry Maya, I didn't mean to distract you from your cooking like that." Molly apologized.

Maya turned to her and smiled. "It's alright. What can you do." She shrugged. "Honestly if it wasn't this I'm sure I would've screwed it up some other way." She admitted with a laugh. "Now that I think about it I might not have put enough flour in it."

As the two girls started to laugh the incident off Candace watched in shock. Maya had just ruined something she had been working hard on yet she didn't appear to be devastated in any way. Had she been in her apron she likely would have ran to her room crying at what a failure she was. But here Maya stood as chipper as ever. Maybe screwing things up didn't have to evoke such a devastating feeling.

"So… sandwiches then?" Maya asked with a giggle.

* * *

As Candace and Molly left the inn after their meal the town was filled with the scent of wet grass from the rain that had passed while they were inside. Candace had fallen back into her silent habits as Molly and Maya had continued to converse while they ate but somehow she didn't feel as lonely as before. Perhaps it was because she was doing so with someone who considered her a friend. Or maybe it was that she had saw first had that one little mistake doesn't mean the end of the world.

As the pair stood outside of the inn and observed post-rain scene, Molly turned over to Candace and smiled.

"Hm, I guess it's a good thing I forgot to water my crops today." She laughed. "I had fun today though."

Candace just looked at her and gave a slight smile.

"We should… do this again sometime." She said before giving a similar expression. "What do you say?"

Candace looked away from her as her body started to tense up. She couldn't be serious about wanting to spend more time with her could she? Still, she had to give a response. "I g-guess… if… if you want…" She replied quietly.

"I'd love to." She smiled. "I should probably head back home for now though. I guess I'll see you later then Candace."

She watched as Molly headed down the trail back towards the farmlands for a moment before departing for her own house just a level below. There upon entering she found Shelly and Colleen still in the kitchen chatting away.

"Oh, Candace, is that you?" Shelly asked as she looked over from the table. "Where have you been?"

"I was over at the i-inn… with Molly…" She replied.

"Really? Did you see Maya there?" Colleen asked.

"Y-Yeah… she made us some sandwiches f-for lunch…" She answered.

"Hm, I hope she gave you some of that pie she was baking when I left. She told me it was going to be the best one yet." Colleen told her as she smiled.

Candace started to think back to Maya's reaction to the burnt pie. It sounded like something she had worked extra hard on and even when watching it literally go up in flames she hardly stopped smiling.

"Either way that was nice of her to make lunch for you two like that." Shelly said before turning to Colleen. "I've always thought she was sweet girl."

"Thank you Shelly. I've always thought of your granddaughters the same way." Colleen replied.

"That reminds me. I had nearly forgotten about writing back to Luna." Shelly turned to Candace. "Do you know what you're going to tell her yet?"

Candace nodded. "Y-Yeah. I t-think I know now."

As Shelly gave her a smile Candace looked away and made her way over to her room in the back of the house. She went over to the dresser and removed a blank piece of paper and placed it on the desk before settling herself in front of it. She wanted to get her thoughts out while she was still outside of the clutches of her depression. With her pencil hovering over the page for seconds that felt stretched out to hours she finally took a deep breath before starting to write.

 _Dear Luna,_

 _Today… I made a friend…._

* * *

 _A/N: Thanks so much to everyone who's taken the time to leave a review. It really helps keep me motivated to write this. All you're concerns for Candace make me feel like I'm doing my interpretation of her justice. :)_


	5. Sorrow About to Fall

As Candace looked down at the sealed letter addressed to her sister that sat within her hands all she could do was feel as though she had made a terrible mistake. Her hands nervously trembled as she struggled to even keep it within her grasp. What had changed since the previous afternoon?

Despite her initial hesitation, once she had placed the tip of her pencil against the surface of the page it felt like there would be no stopping her in completing her message to Luna. Her deepest, most personal thoughts concerning recent events started to spread themselves about the page with ease as though she had no secrets to hide. For the time it took to write out her thoughts she might as well have been a different person. One who wouldn't dare hesitate when speaking with someone out of fear of being judged.

Now as she gazed at the menacing letter that threatened to reveal her feelings to the world all she wanted to do was rip it to shreds and hide the pieces. Her expressed delight at finally having a friend, her attempt to socialize at both the bar and inn, the failed scarf, just reading it all over now made her feel absolutely pathetic. She had written as though either she wanted to be pitied or that no one would actually read her words in the first place.

To her people wouldn't pity her, they would be too busy either laughing or shaking their heads at her. And her own sister was the last person she'd ever want to tell anything she had written to, not when she looked up to her so much.

With a heavy sigh she tightly clenched both her eyes and the letter. A few tears managed to break through their cover and softly fall upon the envelope as she struggled with the choice of tearing it in half right then and there. There was no way she could let anybody read what she had revealed, for the sake of her mental well-being she had to destroy her message.

But should she destroy it then what was she to tell Luna then? Shelly likely didn't intend to send her own letter out without having hers as well so she had to have something. Defeated, the letter fell from her grasp as she diverted all her focus onto remaining composed.

Why had she become so weak again?

When she had stepped out of the inn the previous afternoon with Molly somehow everything seemed a little bit brighter. It felt almost as though the world had become less scary, if only for a moment. It was a strange sensation that was new to her, yet one she had already wished to hold onto forever.

It appeared fleeting however, as everything had reverted to normal by the time she had awoken in the morning. Even with the bright sun out her future looked as gloomy as ever. If what she had temporally felt was indeed happiness then perhaps it truly wasn't meant for her. Not if it couldn't last.

Accepting that she was left with no other choice, Candace slowly rose from her seat and hesitantly grabbed the letter on the desk before dragging her feet over to the door leading to the kitchen. There she found Shelly seated at the table with a cup of tea in her hands and a similar envelope atop her place mat.

"Good morning dear." She greeted with a smile as radiant as the sun outside. "How are you this fine morning?"

Naturally, Candace pulled her letter close to her chest and looked off to the side. "I'm a-alright… just fine…"

Shelly's smile only grew as she returned to her drink. "That's good to hear. You'd been locked up in your room ever since you came back yesterday I was starting to get worried."

Candace's arms fell to her side as her head started to wilt, the letter nearly escaping her grasp. There should have been some sort of comfort from Shelly's concern for her but it only managed to make her feel like a burden. What good was she as a granddaughter if she only ever managed to cause Shelly to worry?

"Is something the matter?" Shelly asked in quick response to her granddaughter's reaction.

"It's nothing…" She sighed while bringing the letter back up to her chest.

Without another word she shuffled over to the counter and began to pour herself a cup of tea with the utensils that appeared to have been left out for her. The first sip brought a soothing sensation to her body that momentarily calmed her mind as she looked back at her grandmother. With her mind temperarly at ease she gave Shelly a genuine smile that managed to dispel her concern.

"Well that's a relief to hear." She replied before forming a slight smirk. "Is that your letter to Luna I see on the counter there?"

Candace turned around and tightly gripped the cup in her hands to try and suppress her forthcoming anxiety attack as she looked down at the envelope in question. Any tighter and it felt as though the delicate ceramic cup might shatter in her hands. Once more she found that tranquility was an elusive creature to her existence. Silently, she nodded.

"Hm, I guess one of us will have to go and send these out later then." Shelly noted nonchalantly. "It's a shame the waters around here are still in poor condition for sailing. Pascal would probably have gotten them to Luna in record time instead of us having to rely on the old postbox by the edge of the fields."

"Y-Yeah…" Candace quietly muttered as she turned back around.

"Well I suppose making do with what we've got has been Castanet's motto for a while now." Shelly said with a chuckle. "I'm sure Luna will be happy to receive our messages whenever she gets them either way."

Candace gave her a weak smile before trying to conceal her face with her bangs and wandering off towards the shop. The envelope that sat on the counter continued to emit a sense of embarrassment that refused to be ignored by even the furthest corner of her mind. She could feel it just practically clawing away at any sense of joy or happiness she could ever hope to experience so long as it existed. Trying to close her eyes and imagine it away only served to reveal to her the image of Luna opening it up and become filled with disappointment at her sister's "accomplishments" as a sea of onlookers laughed at what a loser she was.

Reopening her eyes in the tailor shop her sights immediately fell upon the torn scarf that sat waiting for her atop the sewing station's table, nearly causing her to drop the cup in her hands from surprise. Her eyes immediately shut once more as she attempted to hide from yet another source of humiliation. She prepared herself for the onslaught of disembodied voices that would surely begin to mock her yet not a single peep entered her ears. Peering one eye open her body started to scrunch up in anticipation for some sort of jump scare but all that awaited her was the same view of the tattered scarf atop the table.

No laughter, no horrific sight, nothing. Just a normal unintimidating piece of clothing.

Slowly, she approached the sewing table and set her cup atop it before picking up the damaged red scarf. Looking it over she thought back to Maya and her reaction to the pie she ended up burning to a crisp. It was something that could not be fixed without starting from scratch but she had been completely unaffected by it beyond her initial reaction to the smoke emerging from the oven. Unlike Maya she had a chance to simply correct her mistake by patching up the scarf to make it as good as new but she continued to act as though it, and by extension herself, was a lost cause. Even Molly had expressed her belief in her ability to fix it at the first meeting so why was it so hard for her to simply believe in herself?

Without any sort of thought she found herself gently gliding onto the seat stationed at the table. Setting the scarf down in front of her, she straightening the slip of fabric out across the workspace before reaching for the knitting kit off at the side and began to pull out the necessary tools for stitching the hole closed. Everything around her seemed to calmly fall out of focus as though all that existed was the small corner of the shop where she sat. She could practically feel herself nervously watching from the sidelines amid a crowd of faceless shadows in what was progressively becoming an out of body experience. Her heart pounded against her chest at the top of each second, just waiting for the slightest slip up that would destroy both her work and self-esteem once more.

But such a mistake never came.

With the final stitch in place she paused and observed her handiwork. Where the hole had once been visible was now laced together with a small amount of slightly discolored pink yarn. Though it didn't quite match the color of scarf itself it nonetheless got the job done. Her hands trembled as she pulled them towards herself in shock, still unable to fully believe that she had managed to do it.

Frantically, she started to look about the room for any sort of indication that this was a just some sort of dream but of course nothing appeared out of the ordinary. Though disbelief still refused to loosen its grip she returned her focus to the scarf and examined it. Now that it was fixed there was nothing stopping her from completing it and moving onto other projects.

Nothing except for the fear of screwing it up once again. Maybe she'd end up tearing another hole it in, or maybe she'll make it the wrong size or color. These and other similar fears began to fill her head, opening the door to her crippling sense of pessimism. No matter what she wanted to believe her flimsy sense of confidence refused to let her victory last. If she managed to screw up once what was to stop her from doing so again?

Seeing as depression was poised to pull her further into the abyss the longer she remained in her seat without a struggle she quickly rose from her spot and scurried over to the door. She had to get away and clear her head, that much was certain to her if she wanted to stay happy. With her hands against the wooden surface of the door she calmly closed her eyes and took a deep breath, only to let out a gasp when Shelly began to speak.

"Oh, are you heading out again Candace?" She asked from her spot still over in the kitchen.

Candace quickly spun around to face her before nervously looking away. "J-Just to get some fresh a-air…"

"Well, if you wouldn't mind do you think you can go and deliver our letters while you're out?" She tapped the envelope set in front of her a few times. "It'd be an awfully big help."

Candace gave a weak nod and proceeded back over to the kitchen. "Sure…"

Shelly smiled and watched as her granddaughter retrieved her letter before wandering over to the counter to grab her own. There, Candace stopped and hesitated as she looked down at her work, practically able hear it mocking her. There was hardly a choice for her to ignore it now; she had to take it with. Quickly snatching it up in her grasp she proceeded to back towards the door just as fast.

"Have a nice walk dear." Shelly called to her as she left, watching as she gave a series of quick nods without even looking back.

* * *

Outside the refreshing summer breeze returned a sense of tranquility to Candace's mind. Despite the source of her anxiety resting firmly upon her chest as she stopped to take a deep breath simply being out of the house for another afternoon put her at ease. She had never spent so much time outside before that simply the change of pace was invigorating enough.

Without even as much as glancing down at it she carefully slid her letter along with Shelly's into the pocket of her sweater. The less attention she gave it the easier it would be to keep her mind off it she figured. With her target being the town's communal postbox that sat near the edge of Flute Fields she started to make her way out of Harmonica and back down the same trail towards the farmlands as the day before. She strolled at a leisure pace down the dirt road and could feel herself become more and more relaxed each step of the way. Perhaps the overcast of the previous afternoon had prevented her from fully appreciating the blissful sensation the outdoors were providing her with in spades now. Feeling the warmth of the sun against her pale skin essentially soothed her soul.

It truly surprised her how much a simple change of scenery had managed to calm her. It was almost as if all of the hopelessness and despair she had felt earlier had never occurred.

Her sense of ease soon dissipated, however, when she reached the entrance to the fields just across the river.

Immediately her mind thought back to the night of the moon viewing festival where Luna and her had spent what would be their last event together in the exact spot in which she now stood. As she looked about the area it felt as though she had stepped back in time. Her imagination placed her off at a distance where she could see as the entire group of villagers had gathered around one another and conversed amongst themselves. Luna was naturally right in the heart of it all while she had tried her best to remain hidden in her sister's shadow. She saw as she stood there in the dark with her view directed at anything that wasn't a person while she toyed around with her sleeves, just hoping to be ignored. The imaginary sight of it was almost enough to bring her to her knees.

Desperately, her eyes darted in all directions for anything that would refocus her attention on her task of delivering the letters but instead her view locked upon the small cliff side that sat beside the trail. Once the festivities of that night had begun to die down Candace had been more than ready to return home and never leave again when Luna confessed that there was a special reason she wanted her to be there that night. Silently, she brought her over to that very spot overlooking the road and the two sat on its edge, their feet dangling down against its rocky surface.

"Candace… I…" Luna hesitated as she gazed upon her sister's face in the dim moonlight. It was clear that something was deeply troubling her. "I just… I wanted to tell you first before grandma…"

"What is it…?" Candace asked.

Luna uneasily glanced a few times at Candace and the ground below before finally answering. "I… I think I'm going to leave Castanet…"

Candace's eyes widened with shock as she let out a gasp that echoed throughout the area. "What?!"

"It's just... with things the way they are now around here… I don't know… I feel like it's just time for a change of scenery that's all."

Candace remained silent with disbelief, unwilling to accept that her sister seemed to seriously be considering leaving the only home they've ever really known.

"I know it sounds dumb but… I just think there might be better chances out there you know? That we don't have to just keep sitting here struggling if we don't want to." She paused. "It sounds selfish doesn't it?"

Candace shook her head, not necessarily to answer but rather as a result of her inability to still understand. "B-But where will you go? What about g-grandma? What is she going to think?"

"I'm sure she'll understand once I figure out how to better explain myself…" She hesitated again. "But… that's why I wanted to ask… well… if you want to come with…?"

Again a shudder passed through her body as Luna caught her off guard once more. "W-What? Come with? B-But where?"

"Look, I don't have it all exactly figured out yet alright but…well… If you were to come with I'm sure it would make things easier for me." Luna explained.

Candace started to wildly shake her head again, the pressure of giving an answer just about suffocating her. Though it sounded as though Luna truly did want her to join along in her journey she knew that she would be nothing but a burden to her. Complete deadweight.

"It'd be a great help…" Luna said quietly when she remained silent.

"I… I can't..." She finally answered. "Who… who would… who would t-take care of… grandma...?"

Luna gave a defeated sigh before looking at her sister in a way that would haunt her even to this day. She was disappointed, that much was clear, but there was something else to it that even then Candace had been able to pick up on. Luna had been more than aware to the fact that regardless of if both of them had decided to leave Shelly likely intended to stay put in Castanet like the rest of everyone else. It was the way that Candace had phrased her answer, though, that made it painfully clear that despite how strong their relationship seemed she didn't have an ounce of trust in her sister's ability to protect her. That she would rather remain at home where she could simply accept and lie in defeat instead of believing that Luna's love for her would be enough to keep her out of the darkness.

It was never about who would take care of Shelly, she was a far strong enough woman to handle life on her own. Rather, it was who would take care of her? And as it seemed, to Candace at least, that person was not Luna.

The very remembrance of her answer filled her with a sense of dread that was nowhere close to that of which she had felt earlier in the day. Burying her face in her hands she found herself falling onto her knees as tears started to pour from her eyes. The sunlight that had brought her so much comfort just moments prior seemed to fade away as darkness started to surround her. The very light of the world felt all but lost until a familiar and comforting beacon of hope began to shine through.

"Candace!" She heard Molly's voice gasp from a distance.

Her body refused to stop trembling as she looked up to spot Molly running as fast as she could from the entrance to the Fugue Forest.

"Candace what's wrong?" She asked as quickly knelt beside her, resting her hand atop her shoulder.

Candace wrapped her arms around herself and tried to calm herself. "I-It's n-nothing Molly… N-nothing…"

Molly adjusted herself on the ground so that she was now kneeling in front of her. "Look at you, you're crying. What happened? Tell me, what's wrong?"

Candace shook her head and continued to sulk in her position. "N-No… just…" A part of her desperately wanted to just then and there admit how weak she was but something managed to hold her together. "No…"

Molly gently slid her hand onto her back and began to lightly caress it. "It's fine if you don't want to tell me, I understand."

Candace's head hung down as she continued to cry while Molly tried her best to calm her. She felt like a child in her arms after making a scene like that outside for anyone to see but the relaxing sensation Molly provided by her presence seemed to quell any additional unease. Eventually, she opened her eyes and looked up at Molly, her expression as concerned as ever. Ashamed at herself she looked back down to notice that the two letters had fallen out of her pocket. Molly spotted them as well.

"Are these yours?" She asked while picking them up for her.

Candace nodded and gently took them from her grasp. "I… I was on my w-way to deliver them…" She answered while slowly rising up to her feet.

Molly stood as well and watched her with unease.

"I should probably finish getting them sent…" She muttered as she turned away from her. She simply wanted to put her whole outburst behind her as soon as possible.

Taking only a few steps down the path back towards the postbox, she stopped as Molly spoke to her again.

"Hey… think I can tag along?" She asked causing her to turn back around. "I… well, I just want to make sure you're okay. If that's alright...?"

She wanted to believe that she was simply being pitied for the pathetic display that had just occurred but she knew Molly better.

"S-Sure…" She quietly responded.

Molly gave a comforting smile and joined her at her side.

* * *

Just past the southern gate of Marimba Farms sat the old rusty mailbox Candace sought. Since most of the region's residents lived with their entire family and within close proximity of one another there was hardly a need for each home to have its own mailbox, resulting in the communal one she now stood before. She hardly regretted allowing Molly to come with as she could feel it preventing her from breaking down again yet it offered her no choice now in backing out of delivering her letter.

"So, does everybody just use this thing?" Molly asked as she continued to hesitate placing her letters down the chute.

"Y-Yeah…" Candace meekly replied.

"That's so strange, like, what if someone just decided to steal your mail or something?" Molly started to laugh. "Does that ever happen?"

Candace's eyes were glued to the plated cover as she shook her head. "N-No, everyone around here is too n-nice to do that…" It did create a secret hope within her now that should she eventually put the letter in that maybe someone would steal it so Luna would never see it but the odds of that were virtually zero.

"Heh, you guys sure are trustworthy around here then. You'd never find something like this out in the city." She told her. All the while she continued to survey the landscape stretched out before them. "Hm, these fields just stretch on for miles don't they? You couldn't ever get a view this far either."

Candace looked back at her to see what she was talking about before instantly taking note of how Molly's attention was off in the complete other direction. "This is your chance!" A voice inside her head told her with glee.

She looked down at the two letters in her hand and selected the one she had written. Her heart began to race as she looked down at it and then at the mail slot. She gave a quick look back at Molly as she continued to gaze out at the numerous fields of crops and in an instance shoved her letter back into her pocket before slipping Shelly's into the mailbox. Guilt immediately creeped up on her in full force, even as she turned to face Molly just as she did the same.

"So you all done?" She asked.

"Y-Yeah." She answered nervously. "All d-done."

Molly gave her an unsuspecting smile. "So who were you writing to if you don't mind me asking?"

"Oh…. Just… j-just my sister…" Candace answered, only strengthening her sense of guilt.

"Oh, Luna was her name right? So many people around here seem found of her." Molly replied.

Candace began to sink, similar to how she had at the party. "Y-Yeah…"

Molly seemed to recognize her gesture and tried to reassure her. "Well… I'm sure she's grateful to have a family that cares enough to keep in contact with her as much as you guys…" Her mood started to noticeably change similar to Candace's. "I'm sure she likes to know that you guys still care about her…"

Molly remark only managed to have the opposite effect on Candace given her choice just moments prior.

"Yeah... I… I know she's always happy to get them…" She quietly said.

She looked up at Molly who had the same look of discomfort on her face.

"Do… do you ever write to your family…?" She asked.

"Me?" She asked in shock. "Well, I… they… well… no… they… they don't like to keep in contact with me…"

"What do you m-mean…?" Candace asked.

"It's… it's hard to explain…" She answered, her voice getting quieter.

"Do… do they just not like writing letters?" Candace wasn't entirely sure where this questioning attitude of hers was coming from. If anything she recognized Molly's mood as something she had experience before and felt that trying to comfort her through communication was an appropriate way to try and repay her.

"Yeah… letters… that's what they don't like…" She muttered.

Candace managed to pick up on her sarcastic tone. "Then what…? Do… do they not like y-you?"

"Yeah, that's it!" Molly suddenly began to snap. "Me. They don't like me, that's it. Are you happy?"

Candace found herself taken aback by her sudden aggression. She could hardly tell if she was still being sarcastic or just angry with her response.

"Just do me a favor and drop it alright?" Molly just about demanded.

"I… I was just t-trying to-"

"Look, I get you were just be nice and are curious but I'd rather not talk about it alright." Molly explained while abruptly cutting her off. She didn't even seem to care how aggressive she was suddenly becoming.

The lingering anger in her tone did little to put Candace at ease.

"But… but w-why wouldn't they like you…?" Candace still persisted, even in spite of what she had just been told. "T-That was it, ri-"

"Did I not just tell you to stop asking?" Molly shouted at her. "I. Don't. Want. To… urgh…" She started to storm off back towards Marimba before stopping in her tracks and shuddering. It appeared almost as though she was about to cry. "I need to be alone right now..."

Candace's heart continued to race inside her chest as she watched Molly's figure grow smaller and smaller in the distance. Was her anger the Goddess's way of dishing out karma in response to her neglecting to send the letter out to her sister? Quickly she pulled the letter out from the depths of her pocket and turned back to the mailbox before shoving it into the receiving slot with all her might. Her hand stayed locked atop the opening as she slowly slide down the side of the box and onto the ground, tears returning to her eyes.

Never before in her life had she ever managed to make somebody as visibly upset as she just had with Molly. She was supposed to be her friend, not her enemy. Her heart almost began to break at the thought about what she had just done. Worst yet was her inexperience with friendship left her only to wonder if after an incident like that would Molly still want to consider them friends?

Though, when she thought about it, the answer seemed more than obvious…

* * *

 _A/N: This is the last chapter I'll be able to get out before returning to school next week so updates may become more spaced out from here on out. I do hope that you'll continue to look forward to each one though. :)_


	6. Homecoming

For Candace, the incident with Molly may as well have been the equivalent of slamming her fist down on life's reset button. In spite of how little she'd managed to climb out of the abyss that had laid claim to her life so long ago crashing back down against the ground at full force may as well have hurt as much as it would from the top. Had it been a more literal scenario it felt as though it may as well have killed her. She was like a frightened turtle who after being afraid for so long finally decided to poke their head out of its shell only to remember why they hid in the first place.

Molly had given her her first glimpse into a brighter world that sat in wait for her, one that she didn't have to be afraid of. But it was one that she could not suitably navigate without a proper guide. A guide who now may as well have despised her.

With her only friend now gone from her side she was right back to where she had started before Molly had managed to step foot in the tailor shop just short of half a season ago.

Alone.

Candace was hardly a stranger to the pains of isolation but now it only devastated her further. She had felt, if only for a moment, what it was like to have someone care about you and in an instant it was taken from her by her own hand. In her view she was an absolute monster. One who deserved to be locked away from everyone.

Fearing there was no other choice she reverted back to her old existence of severe isolation with ease. Even the brief sense of joy that had come from fixing the scarf had all but vanished, leaving her unable to even feel the desire to venture back to the sewing station.

When Candace had first rushed home after her incident at the mailbox Shelly was quick to pick up on the fact that something was wrong when she watched her granddaughter quickly darted into her room without so much as a word. Any attempt she made over the passing days to learn about what was causing her poor Candace so much distress however was met with the typical response of "Nothing," or "I'm fine, really," which, as her expression said, was the exactly the kind of answer she feared. She almost desperately wanted to help, it was in her nature not just as a grandmother but as a caring individual, but naturally Candace refused to accept it, unwilling to accept what she saw as only pity.

All the while as she sat alone within her room her heart carried the faintest hope that Molly would come knocking on the door of the shop seeking to accept the whole-hearted apology she'd no doubt cry to her. Though her mind had given up hope on ever being able to make amends her heart refused to given in. There was simply something special about Molly that captivated her like nothing she'd ever felt before.

Her gentle smile, her calm way of speaking to her, her sincere regard for her feelings. Her heart just wasn't ready to let her go just yet.

Eventually a visitor did come to the tailor shop, but it was one she had not expected.

* * *

Through the front window of the store Candace watched as the approaching winds of the fall season ran across the trees out down the road, signifying the forthcoming end of summer. From the distance she could sense that the breeze carried a curious sense of liveliness that hadn't been felt for quite some time. Even in face of the upcoming autumn decay it appeared as though nature was reawakening.

All the while as she watched the quiet countryside the comforting light of the sun shone down on her through the opening in the curtains. Its warmth brought back memories of the passing sense of joy she had felt during her brief time outside, its gentle embrace calling for her to experience it once more. She could hardly entertain the idea, however, as fear's grip held strong.

Should she choose to venture out again what was to stop her from hurting another person?

Hastily, she retreated away from her position before the window and further back into the house, and by extension, the shadows. She needed to cut off the temptation of the outside world as venturing out had only brought her misery as of late.

Left with no other choice she withdrew into body as she dragged herself back off into the bedroom. Without any distractions that would dare attempt to revive her spirits it was the perfect place for a broken girl like her to continue her sulking. Unfortunately it came with the downside of having virtually nothing for her to do, leaving her to simply collapse upon her bed once more with grief. Now amidst the darkness of the room she curled herself up into a ball atop the center of the mattress and held herself.

With a heavy sigh she gently closed her eyes and hoped to fall asleep in order to put yet another day behind her when the muffled sound of excited chatter started to come from the other room. With Shelly having been out for the morning it seemed reasonable to assume that she might have returned in the company of Colleen or someone else from town but her level of enthusiasm that carried through the wall appeared to indicate otherwise. From her spot Candace sat up and leaned her ear closer to the edge of the room when the door opened revealing an incredibly happy Shelly, visibly shocking her.

"Candace, do come out." Her tone rang with excitement she hardly managed to contain. "You'll never believe who's here! They've been dying to see you all day."

Candace could hardly get out a peep before Shelly scurried back out of the room, letting the door silently close behind her. Her grandmother's neglect of her obvious depression did her no favors. Sighing again her head dropped down as she crawled back out of bed, certain that whoever lied in wait for her was going to be of no use in cheering her up. Weakly, she carried herself over to the door and opened it.

The sound of a joyous gasp filled her ears as she had begun to gradually lift her head up only to meet the sight of a sea of lavender colored hair that flooded her view.

"Oh Candace there you are!" The voice of her sister exclaimed just as Candace found herself constricted in her tight grip. "I've missed you so much!"

Candace's eyes widened and an inaudible gasp escaped her lips as she felt her body practically go limp in her sister's grasp. She remained silent in shock as Luna continued to hold her.

"You don't know how good it is to finally see you after all this time." Luna nearly wept as she finally pulled herself away. The unsteady smile on her face made it appear as though she was ready to cry with delight at any moment.

"L-Luna…" Candace started to utter. "Y-You're back…" For as truly grateful as she was to really be seeing her sister again her voice could only sound hollow as though there was something wrong with her sudden reappearance.

"You wouldn't believe it," began Shelly as she approached the pair. "I was just out for a little midmorning walk when I bumped into Ruth out on the pier. I decided to keep her company while she waited for Pascal to return after picking up Anissa and then next thing you know I'm nearly fainting when I see Luna right there beside her on the boat!"

Luna broke out in an infectious smile and tried to conceal the budding blush on her face. "Haha, I really have Anissa to thank for bringing me here. I was lucky enough to run into her out in the city a few days ago so we decided to get some lunch at a nice little café. She told me that her mother had recently wrote to her saying that their farm had somehow come back to life and how she was all ready to come back here to Castanet. When I heard that the waters cleared up too and that Pascal would be coming any day to pick her up I just couldn't stop thinking about home…"

Again, Luna looked as if she was ready to cry as she took a moment to calm herself.

"I guess… I guess my homesickness really got the better of me…" She finished, practically in tears. In one swift movement she leaned forward and wrapped her arms around both her grandmother and Candace. "I've missed you both so much…"

"And we've missed you too." Shelly replied gently.

Candace's expression remained completely unchanged this entire time. Even as Luna released the pair and gazed longingly at the family she had long been separated from not even the slightest semblance of emotion could be found upon her face. It was just completely blank.

"Isn't that right Candace?" She heard her grandmother ask from her side.

Carefully Candace turned to her and gave a slow nod, her breathing rate visibly unstable. "Y-Yeah…"

She looked back at Luna as she wiped a tear from her eye while her lips quivered. It only furthered her disgust with herself as she failed to focus on anything else other than how Luna was obviously better at handling this situation than her. Her dear sister whom she hadn't seen for nearly two years now was standing before her with tears of joy streaming down her eyes yet she could hardly muster up any emotion at all.

Nothing pained her more than her inability to see the situation as anything other than another "contest" Luna had beat her at.

"I'm… I'm really glad you're back too…" She tried to affectionately say but her words came out as hollow as her expression.

Luna smiled, oblivious to her sister's empty remark. "Oh Candace, it's been forever since we've really talked. We really need to catch up on things; I must have missed so much over these last few years."

Candace began to sink as her thoughts turned to back to her letter. If she struggled so much to write out her feelings to her sister there was hardly a reason to believe that she could say them to her in person.

"Oh, and you too grandma." Luna added with a joyful giggle.

"Well I don't think too much has changed since our last letters out to you." Shelly said. "You did receive them before you left right?"

Luna lowered her brow and scratched her head. "You mean the ones you sent back at the start of spring? Surely things haven't stayed the same that long."

Shelly gave a slight gasp as her eyes lit up. "Oh? So you didn't get the ones we sent out last week? Candace had them dropped off for delivery but I guess it just wasn't fast enough."

"Guess not," Luna shrugged. "But that just gives us an excuse to get really catch up. I want to hear everything."

Contrary to the smile Luna finished with Candace only receded further into depression's clutches. With the revelation that Luna was apparently never in fact going to receive the letter that caused her so much grief and embarrassment her entire fit over sending it only became more pointless. Even worse was that if Molly's outburst at her was indeed some sort of cosmic retribution for her attempt to disregard her sister then she had costed herself her only friend for nothing.

Never before had she felt like such a failure.

"Well things certainly have recovered around here." Candace's attention slowly turned to her grandmothers words towards Luna. "Just about everyone's come back to town as well it seems, oh, we even got a new resident too. Isn't that right Candace?"

She felt a shiver run through her body as both Shelly and Luna's attention feel on her. "Really?"

Surely Shelly was referring to Molly, the last person Candace wanted to think about.

"Y-Yeah…" She nodded without much of a choice, completely unwilling to say her name.

"She's a nice young farmer, Molly's her name I think." Shelly chuckled. "Took over that vacant farmhouse right beside the fields. She seems to be quite the popular one around here, even her and Candace have spent quite a bit of time together."

An earthquake may as well have passed through Candace's body as all eyes fell on her again.

"No way, is she serious?" Luna playfully asked.

Though Candace knew her sister's words were nothing more than typical sibling teasing with her happiness seemingly at an all-time low it came off to her like the harshest of insults. At that moment she wanted to do a lot of things. She wanted to cry, she wanted to disappear, she wanted to wake up from what felt like a terrible nightmare.

But strangest of all she could feel that there was a part of her that also didn't want to give up.

Shelly's mere mention of the handful of times Molly and her had spent together reminded her of how in those brief moments she had actually managed to feel confident in herself. Her heart continued to refuse and let go of all hope for both herself, and her relationship with Molly.

"Y-Yeah… we're… friends…" Her tone carried just louder than a small mouse and carried a sense of uncertainty.

"Oh my god! I just have to meet her now." Luna started to beam with a laugh as she leaned over and embraced Candace. "You'll have to introduce us."

"Now, now, I'm sure you and Candace can go out and see everybody tomorrow or something once you've gotten settled back here at home." Shelly told her as she released her sister. Candace remained as silently unsteady as when she'd been picked up again.

Luna gave a bit of a frown and started to pout. "But it's such a lovely day out today. Let me tell you, when you've been breathing nothing but that dirty city air everywhere you go for the past two years coming back here is like… well, like a breath of fresh air. Just getting five feet off the dock back there was a relief."

"But what about all of your things?" Shelly asked eyeing the set of suitcases still placed over by the front door. "Surely you'd like to at least unpack first?"

"Oh it can wait." Luna grumbled before sticking her pinky out. "I'll get everything sorted and away as soon as I get back, promise."

"Well if you insist." Shelly sighed causing Luna's spirits visibly picked up.

"I'd just like to get some time out in the nice weather is all." She admitted. "Fall's just around the corner which means soon it'll be time for some colder weather… and less fashionable attire at that. I always did like our summer outfits more than our later year wear."

That said Luna turned and took a good look over towards the shop, noticeably admiring the display's carrying Candace's work.

"I see you're just as amazing as ever at designing outfits Candace." Luna remarked, turning back to her sister. Her voice trailed off towards the end of her comment, carrying almost what sounded like a sense of disappointment in something.

"They're n-nothing… really…" Candace replied as expected while looking away.

When Candace's view returned back to her sister she watched as Luna's lips curled up into an encouraging smile. She briefly smiled back before looking off to the side again, tugging on the end of her sleeve as she did so.

"I guess I should probably get going then if I want to see everyone before it gets dark." Luna said. Her eyes bounced between Shelly and Candace for a moment. "Won't you come with Candace?"

"M-Me…?" Candace nervously blurted out as she quickly looked at her.

Luna lightheartedly smirked. "Of course you."

Candace withdrew into herself. It seemed like a harmless question, much like when Molly had invited her to the bar, but its weight felt all too similar to the one out on the cliffside all those nights ago. It was a second chance for her to support her sister and she couldn't afford to let her down again, even if every fiber of her being was prepared to scream no.

"A-Alright…" She answered. "I'll come…"

For as forced as her answer came off Luna nonetheless accepted it with a proud smile. To Candace it was one she should have received years ago had she managed to have the courage then.

"You two go off and have a good time then." Shelly smiled as Candace joined Luna at her side before following her over to the door. "I'll see what I can do about fixing up a nice welcome back dinner for when you two come home."

"You're the best you know it." Luna said as she smiled happily. "Both of you…"

"We're just glad to finally have you back home with us." Shelly replied. "We've really missed you."

Candace continued to remain silent as the two briefly exchanged pleasantries once again, still unable to genuinely say those three little words.

* * *

As the two stood outside tailor shop planning their next step Candace took a moment to feel as the rejuvenated wind brushed through her hair. The cooling sensation of the breeze combined with the gentle warmth of the sun put her mind and body at temporary ease. Everything felt so calm in contrast to the lingering sense of decay that had been present throughout the area just a short while ago. It seemed that in the end things for Castanet and its people might be alright in the end.

Candace could only hope to be included in such a happy ending.

"Now where to even begin…?" Luna wondered aloud, bringing her sister out of her trance. "What do you think Candace?"

"W-Well we could go and say hi to Julius first. I know he'd be h-happy to tell you that the jewelry store r-reopened." She answered by suggesting the first person she knew they both had a slight connection to.

"Ugh, thanks for reminding me all about that creep!" Luna gagged. "For as stylish as he thinks he may be he's a total jerk. Has he been bothering you at all since I left?"

"N-No, not at a-all!" To Luna practically any interactions she saw between him and her sister teetered on the fine line of bullying.

Luna scoffed off to the side. "Well if he ever starts to get on your nerves you just let me know, ok?"

Candace sank. She had always thought she was supposed to look out for her little sister, not the other way around.

"You could introduce me to that new friend of yours?" Luna suggested with a grin.

Candace felt that standard shock throughout her body. Her mind had been so preoccupied with Luna's arrival that she nearly managed to forget about her incident with Molly. She couldn't dare try to speak to her before apologizing for offending her could she?

"I… I t-think she's busy today…" She muttered.

Luna raised an eyebrow at her, seemingly unconvinced.

"She… she w-works hard on her farm a lot…"

"Makes sense I guess." Luna shrugged. "She doesn't have anyone to help her?"

Candace shook her head. "It's just her I t-think…"

"Sheesh, wonder what dragged her all the way out here alone then." Luna pondered. "I doubt I could handle a whole farm by myself. All that dirt and sweat, yuck, it makes me want to ump in a bath just thinking about it."

Candace nervously looked away from Luna. Grateful that her lie to try and stay away from Molly worked, but disappointed with herself that it was something she felt had to be done.

"Hm, looks like you still got the same feelings about hard work as usual." They both heard Kathy jokingly mock from behind.

Candace turned with her sister to see her approaching from the bridge.

"Well I'm sure if you ever worked hard at something you'd agree with me." Luna taunted right back, a smirk painted across her face.

"So it really is you." Kathy smiled. "I thought I heard someone over here complaining about Julius."

Luna shrugged. "Can you really blame me? The guy's a total creep."

"Can't say I really talk with him enough to know but I'll take your word for it I guess. Surely you didn't come all the way back home to tell everyone that?" Kathy asked with a laugh.

"Hardly," Luna laughed back. "I'm back, well, simply because I wanted to come home. I heard things were finally starting to turn around back here and thought it was as good a time as ever to finally make my homecoming."

"Seems like everyone's getting in that mindset nowadays." Remarked Kathy. "I heard Anissa was coming back today too and Gill got in just the other day as well. If you two would like some of us are gathered over in the bar for a 'secret meeting.' I'm sure they'd love to hear that you're back in town too."

Luna turned to Candace, finally acknowledging her presence since Kathy had appeared. "Sounds like fun, you in?"

Candace's eyes bounced between the two of them, nearly trembling with anxiety from the forthcoming social interaction.

"I-I guess I can come with." She answered quietly.

Luna's face beamed with a smile. "Alright. Lead the way Kathy."

Kathy nodded and the sisters followed closely behind as she headed back over to her home across the small walkway, Candace trailed just a tad behind her sister as to potentially conceal herself. As she expected, entering the room turned out to be a repeat of the party earlier in the season.

"Hey everyone, look who I managed to find outside." Kathy announced to the group gathered around the bar.

"Well I'll be, is that Luna I see there?" Hayden asked from his typical spot behind the counter.

"It appears to be so." Chase responded as he crossed his arms. "What a pleasant surprise this is now."

"First Gill and now Luna? Why, it's like a happy little reunion here in town now!" Chirped Maya with glee.

As everyone exchanged their pleasantries with Luna, Candace became frozen with fear once she noticed Molly within the group staring right back at her. Her troubled gaze remained fixated on the static blue-haired girl for what felt like hours, carrying a sense similar to that of when they had spoken on the beach so many nights ago. It was hard to notice but she appeared to withdraw into herself as her view began to shoot about the room before settling on Luna.

"So, you're Candace's little sister." Molly greeted as she started to carefully approach her. Her tone was unnerved. "I've heard so much about you lately that I was wond-."

"I'm not little!" Luna exclaimed in annoyance. "I'll have you know that I'm only two years younger than her! I'm not some sort of child!"

Kathy leaned over towards Molly as she backed away. "She's a little sensitive about possibly being thought of as a child…" She said in a low whisper.

Molly nodded before returning to Luna.

Luna on the other hand quickly blushed from embarrassment and noted everyone's silent reaction towards her. "… Sorry… I didn't mean to blow up like that…"

"It's alright I… didn't mean to offend you…" Molly spoke softly, her view noticeably shifting slightly towards on Candace.

"No, really, it was all my bad. I shouldn't just shout at somebody I don't know, it's incredibly rude." Luna offered a small smile. "Hm, I'm Candace's sister, Luna, as you already seem to know."

"I'm Molly." She smiled back, shaking the hand Luna offered. "I moved into the small farm down the road just a while ago. Everyone seems to speak so highly of you around here so I'm glad I get to finally meet you."

Candace naturally began to wilt at the reminder of her sister's unprecedented reputation compared to hers.

"Haha, I didn't know I had so many fans." Luna laughed before looking over at Kathy. "Is that what your 'secret meeting' is about?"

"Did you seriously call it that…?" Chase groaned with an eye roll as the girls all giggled.

"Ha, I kind of like referring to it as that." Maya laughed.

"Lighten up Chase. I was just having a little fun is all." Kathy teased with a wink. "Sides, it made it easier to convince them to stop by for a bit."

"I mean we probably would have come anyway, right Candace?" Luna asked.

Candace simply nodded, afraid to even dare speak in front of Molly.

"So what are you all really discussing then? Anything interesting?" Luna's attention returned to the group.

"Well old Hamilton's fixing to help bring some fun back to town now that the weather seems to be calming down. Since his son's come back along with everyone else he's been hoping we can finally celebrate the summer festival since we've had to skip out on having it for so long." Hayden explained. "Of course it just depends on whether or not we'll all be able to get things set up in time."

"We're naturally in charge of making sure they'll be enough food to go around, especially on such short notice." Kathy added.

"Those of us that can cook at least." Muttered Chase resulting in Maya innocently sticking her tongue out at him.

"Oh that sounds like a wonderful idea!" Luna beamed. "I'm sure it'll be a great time. What about you Candace?"

Candace shook and looked over towards the empty side of the bar. "Y-Yeah… It sounds like it'll be f-fun…" She answered quietly. Her mind wanted to end that thought with 'for you all' but something told her there was hardly a chance she'd be able to skip out on participating in the festivities. Slowly her eyes wandered back over to Molly who still stood off to the side, appearing to be as unhappy as herself.

"Do… d-do you cook too M-Molly…?" She asked, the stammering of her voice matching that of her heart.

Molly appeared caught off guard by her question. "H-Huh? What, oh, no, I don't. Haha, I'm just here to see if they'd like any specific crops or the like. I guess Renee was supposed to be here to try and help with that too but I haven't seen her at all." Once done answering she nervously looked down and then back up at Candace with a small smile on her face.

"Oh, I see…" Candace said while anxiously looking away.

"Well if Anissa's back now then I'm sure those two are probably chatting the day away as we speak." Assumed Kathy. "Those two have been like that since we were all kids. I'm sure she'll stop by later though, her family's farm and Marimba have given us some quality crops over the years. "

Candace would have just stopped talking then and there if not for the voice in her head nagging for her to say more in an effort to show Molly that she wasn't as horrible as their last encounter made her out to be. Given what happened the last time she gave into the voice she was feared for the worst but felt that the more public setting would at least reduce any potential anger she may trigger.

"I-I'm sure your crops are j-just as good Molly…" She said, noticeably bracing herself for any sort of blowup.

"W-What? Oh no!" Molly started to blush. "I'm just a beginner at this, I'm sure my stuff is nowhere near as good or probably tasty as theirs."

"Oh don't be so down on yourself." Chase told her. "Have a bit of faith in yourself."

"Yeah, I'm sure you're gonna have a great first harve- WAIT! How come you've never told me that before Chase?" Maya began in a pleasant tone before experiencing a sudden rage.

Chase merely shrugged rather smugly.

"We'll take whatever you can give us gladly, really. I'm sure you're doing a fine job out there." Said Kathy as her father nodded from behind.

The rosy shade of Molly's cheeks only grew darker as she took in everyone's compliments. She rather shyly looked away to try and conceal her gratitude before looking back over at Candace causing her expression to become almost guilty. She looked back over at the floor off to the side of her feet.

"Thanks everyone…" She muttered.

As Candace continued to stare in surprise that her compliment seemed to have worked Luna eyed her with a smile.

"Well I guess we'll let you guys get back to sorting everything else out then." She said as she readdressed the group. "I should probably go and check up with some other friends… and Julius…" She mumbled that last bit under her breath. "Shall we Candace?"

Candace have a nod as she turned to her. "Yeah, I g-guess."

"It was lovely seeing all of you again, and meeting you too Molly." She waved.

Molly looked over at her and Candace, still visibly troubled. "It was nice to meet you too. I hope we'll get a chance to see each other again soon…" Her gaze, again, appeared fixated on Candace before drifting off into space.

"Let us know how everything goes!" Requested Luna as she made her leave. Candace remained in her spot for a moment and watched Molly for another moment before hurrying off after her sister.

* * *

Outside the bar Candace caught up to Luna's side as she appeared to be making her way up towards the church grounds. Luna stayed silent for a moment before stopping in her tracks.

"That was a really nice thing you did in there for Molly." She confessed as she faced her sister.

A blush appeared on Candace's face and she immediately looked down at her feet to hide it. "I-It was n-nothing really…"

"I thought it was sweet. You're a real good friend Candace." She continued.

Candace's mood began to shift. She felt that Luna wouldn't say such a thing if she had known about what she did to Molly the last time they talked. Yet at the same time her heart told her that if Molly had truly hated her like she wanted to believe then she wouldn't have been so accepting of her compliment. After a moment she looked back up at her sister's smiling face and all negativity in her mind temporally disappeared.

"Do… do you r-really mean it…?" She asked.

"Of course I do." Luna answered with a smile.

She then leaned forward and lovingly embraced her sister.

"I missed you…" She whispered after a moment.

Candace finally began to hug her back.

"…I missed you too…"

* * *

 _A/N: It's finally done! After sitting in my files halfway done for 2 weeks now it's finally done. Sorry for the delay, like I said last time school's got me quite busy which makes it hard to find time outside a few hours on the weekend to write stuff. Hopefully it was worth the wait._


	7. Hold on Tight

The visit to the bar seemed to be about the limit to which Candace was willing to be social. All throughout the rest of the afternoon she stood quietly off to her sister's side and watched as she affectionately reconnected with a fair portion of the town. Aside from the occasional "H-Hello" or "Yeah" she was hardly called upon to say much else, essentially ignored in favor of her sister. It made sense given that it was Luna's grand return home; rather, that was at least what she considered to be a lie to tell herself to try and keep her spirits up. Negativity still ran rampant through her mind, keeping her convinced that no one paid her any mind because, as per usual, she simply wasn't worth their time.

It seemed like a more logical reason to her given that she'd never presented herself as one eager to talk, giving everyone who knew her an excuse to just ignore her.

Even upon visiting Julius he hardly spoke a peep to her despite his previous proposal of a potential business venture between the trio. Luna's intent to make practically every word directed at him part of a backhanded compliment, however, caused him to stay on the defensive for most of their brief encounter and left him no room for much discussion of any sort. Still, it left her puzzled that for how often the two could engage in a war of childish insults against one another there was still more than a handful of times in which they'd manage to get along, even going as far to call the other a legitimate friend. Yet for her all it took was one instance of accidentally pushing Molly's buttons and suddenly it was fair to say that they'd never speak again.

Her ghostly silence continued into the promised meal Shelly had waiting for them once they returned home. Even around the kitchen table their grandmother's focus practically remained exclusively on Luna, turning to Candace every now and again only to ask trivial non-questions such as "Now doesn't that sound nice?" and "How interesting, right dear?" Each time, much like before, Candace would only momentarily looked up at her and answer with a weak nod before staring back down at the distorted reflection contained within her bowl of mushroom soup. Her appetite appeared to have left alongside whatever positivity she had managed to feel upon hugging her sister, leaving her to uninterestingly stir the contents of her meal about in what may as well have been a desperate cry for help.

"Is something wrong Candace?" Shelly finally asked.

Candace continued to gaze down at the broken image of a girl looking back at her, her head resting firmly upon her hand.

"Candace…?"

"H-Huh…?" Candace asked wearily as her eyes unenthusiastically wandered up to her grandmother.

"Is everything alright?" She asked again. "You've barely touched your soup or said a word all evening."

If Candace were a bolder person she might have taken it upon herself to point out that her extreme silence was the result of no one seeming to care enough to try and have a genuine conversation with her and not just due to her reserved personality. Of course, that was far from the person she actually was and instead she took to slumping further in her chair, drawing concern from both Shelly and Luna.

"I'm… I-I'm fine…" She murmured. "I just… I don't f-feel good right n-now…"

Shelly gave her dish a slight nudge forward before leaning over towards Candace. Gently, she brushed the bangs that nearly concealed her granddaughter's eyes out of the way and rested her hand atop her forehead. "What's the matter, is it a fever? You aren't coming down with something are you?"

Candace's arms dropped down to her side. She was hardly lying about her current wellbeing but knew that she lacked the courage to admit to even her family that she was speaking about her state of mind rather than her physical condition as Shelly interpreted.

"I don't know… m-maybe…" She answered, beating herself up on the inside for choosing to go along with the lie.

"Maybe you should get some rest." Shelly suggested. "I'd hate for you to start getting sick now that things are starting to pick up around here."

Candace looked up at her with a tired smile before darting her eyes back down to the ground and scooting out of her seat. Luna watched her sister with a troubling gaze as she proceeded to sluggishly drag herself around the table and back to their room. Inside, Candace turned and carefully shut the door before resting herself atop it. Through the paper-thin walls of the home she could hear as Shelly and Luna remained in silence for a while before slowly returning to their conversation, albeit with a more somber tone than before. Slowly, she wrapped her arms around herself for comfort as she turned to face the dark prison she had forced herself into for the rest of the night. Hanging her head in shame she gradually started to carry herself over to her bed, as hopeless as ever.

Back in the kitchen, upon finishing dinner sometime later Luna assisted Shelly with the dishes before going about fulfilling her promise of setting her things away. She was sure to tiptoe her way into the backroom as to not disturb Candace while wheeling her set of suitcases carefully behind her. Even in the dark she could see as her sister lay in her bed facing off towards the wall opposite of her, shaking ever so slightly in time with her breathing. Setting her luggage up against the wall beside her own bed she attempted to sort through her mess of various clothes and belongings but quickly found the task too difficult while in the darkness of the shadows. Again, she looked back at Candace just as she'd begun to hold herself for comfort.

"Hey… are you still awake Candace?" She quietly asked.

Candace lied silently beneath her sheets for a moment, regrettably finding herself willing to ignore her sister's question. Guilt began to soon naturally creep up to the bedside prompting her to shuffle about to turn back towards her. "Yeah…"

"Oh… are you feeling better...?" She asked sounding noticeably uncertain of what she really wanted to say.

Candace rolled back over towards the wall. "I-I… no… not really…"

While Luna was relieved that her sister was deciding to be honest about her feelings for once it did nothing to lessen its troubling implications.

"Well… Grandma and I both hope that you'll start to feel better soon…" She replied gently. Whether it was the right thing to say in a situation like this she wasn't entirely sure but she knew at the very least she had to try and encourage Candace somehow.

The cerulean haired girl remained still in bed for a moment before turning back to her sister once more. As she sat up in bed she looked upon her with a dimly lit smile that appeared as fragile as herself. It conveyed a genuine effort to try and appear grateful for the compliment she'd just received but looked just as hopeless at the same time.

"Th-Thanks…" She muttered as her view strayed off to the side.

"Candace… you know, if there's ever anything wrong… you can tell us…" Luna spoke softly.

Candace's head started to sink ever so slowly as her legs curled up to her chest. Her face became buried in her knees as she proceeded to wrap her arms around them.

"I… I-I…" She was practically choking her words out. "I'm f-fine… h-honest…"

In an instant Luna seated herself besides her sister and embraced her as tight as she could.

"Candace it's okay…" She soothingly whispered into her ear, pulling her in closer. The sound of Candace's crying was muffled by her legs. "Everything's alright…"

Candace simply responded by further constricting her legs as to silence the sound of her tears even further.

"What's wrong?" Luna calmly asked as she began to stroke her back. "You can tell me."

Candace violently started to shake her head, incredibly reluctant to look back at her sister more than ever.

"Candace… if something is wrong… I need to know…" Luna tried her hardest to speak as unintimidating as possible while still expressing the necessity of her claim.

She continued to sob into to bottom of her nightgown for a moment before pulling her head away slightly. "Luna… p-please… I'm o-okay…"

Candace could practically see her sister's heart sink through her deep blue eyes as she attempted to look at her with a trembling smile. Luna stared back at her before closing her eyes with a heavy sigh.

"Candace… please… just know that I'm always going to be here if you need anything." She proceeded to hold her sister once more. "I love you Candace… and I want to see you happy more than anything else in the world…"

As her eyes tightened Candace gently rested her head on Luna's shoulder. She desperately pleaded with herself to let her sister's comforting words reach her but her mind remained too distraught by how much stronger she was than her. Down in her heart she could feel as a tiny glimmer of hope attempted to continuously spark up into that sensation of joy that she longed for before fizzling out into nothing.

Slowly, she pulled away from her sister and looked down upon her hands in her lap, unable to look Luna in the eyes.

"Thanks…" She uttered.

"I mean it Candace…" Luna replied. "If you ever need _anything_ you just come and let me know."

Eventually Candace found the courage to spare Luna a momentarily glance, taking specific note of the genuine smile on her face and how it failed to trigger even the slightest reaction in her.

* * *

Upon waking the next morning Candace found that Luna was still very much the morning person she had been before leaving. With her bed barren and a good deal of her belongings already sorted away, if the half empty suitcases scattered about the floor were any indication at least, it only left her to wonder if there was anything her sister couldn't do. After almost literally rolling out of her bed unenthusiastically with a sigh she wandered over to the kitchen door. If she were just a tad bit more awake she may have managed to take note of the voices coming from the other half of the house and how it sounded like there was company over but such a level of critical thinking was at least another hour away for her.

Rather, it would've been were it not for the unanticipated wake-up call she was seconds away from receiving.

With a great yawn Candace placed her hand on the doorknob and began to tug it back just as someone on the other end proceeded to open it from their end as well.

"She still must be sleeping." Luna's voice replied back to someone. "Let me che-"

She could hardly finish the thought before she abruptly found herself walking head first into her sister, having been distracted by whomever she'd been speaking to. As if they were perfect reflections of one another the two sister's both fell backwards in perfect harmony while rubbing their respective foreheads.

"Guess I found her…" Luna grumbled before climbing back up to her feet.

Candace's eyes remained clenched for a moment until the throbbing pain in her forehead began to dissipate.

"L-Luna, I'm so s-sorry…" She apologized hastily. Looking up she saw as her sister extended her hand out for her and reached for it. "I was j-ju-"

Her train of thought came to an immediate stop as her eyes caught sight of Molly standing off to the side a tad behind Luna, appearing to be giggling. Even as her sister attempted to help her off the ground she became frozen solid with embarrassment. She'd been up for not even five minutes and she had already managed to humiliate herself by demonstrating her clumsiness. Slowly, she allowed Luna to resume lifting her up at full speed.

"Th-thanks…" She muttered once up on her feet. Naturally, her attention was focused off on the floor to her side while she engaged in her typical habit of yanking on the long sleeves of her cotton blue nightgown.

"It's alright Candace, accidents happen I suppose." Laughed Luna with a cheerful smile. "I probably should have knocked first."

Candace continued to focus elsewhere in silence.

"It seems you got yourself a visitor this morning though, Candace." Shelly noted as she gestured towards Molly.

"Hey Candace." Molly gave a cute wave and smiled.

Candace meekly glanced up at her and gave a smiled ever so slightly as she gently rubbed her right arm, creating a crooked frown upon Luna's face.

"She got here just a bit ago looking for you." Luna explained, hoping the news would elicit some kind of positive reaction in her sister.

Candace rather unfortunately only grew nervous at such news. Surely Molly's presence could only mean that she'd grown tired of waiting on an apology and came to force one out of her. Her cheery attitude was just a façade until they were alone. Then the anger she'd provoked the other day would return directed at her full force.

"Hehe, I was just hoping to see you again for once." Molly clarified with a childish laugh. "Though, it sounds like you might be getting sick? I don't want to bother you if that's the case. I can come back some other day if you want."

Candace brought her hands close to her chest and shook her head, gazing down at her feet. Despite her inner most fears her heart urged for her to remain positive. "N-No… I… I feel better now…"

From out of her view the girls began to all break out in an uncoordinated smile.

"Well isn't that a relief to hear?" Shelly rhetorically asked. "Say, why don't you go on and get dressed for the day then and I'll whip us all up an extra nice breakfast for when you come back out since we have company. Does that sound good to everyone?"

"Oh? You don't have to do that for me." Molly replied modestly. "I don't want to impose on you like that."

"Nonsense, it's quite alright." Smiled Shelly. "I don't know how it goes back in the city but here in Castanet we treat our guest's right."

Molly briefly paused. "Well, thank you, you're all so kind here…" As her voice trailed off she glanced over at Candace who seemed to have felt her gaze and looked back. She had the same uncertain look on her face as when she had been complimented at the bar the previous afternoon.

Shelly gestured to the back door. "Go on then Candace. We'll all be waiting out here for you."

"Yeah, come on Candace, hurry up already. I'm starving over here." Luna teased with a giggle.

With a series of rapid nods Candace turned back over towards the bedroom and left. Without delay she proceeded over to her dresser and outfitted herself in her predictable all blue ensemble. Before returning to the group in the kitchen she paused for a moment and gazed at herself in the mirror. It wasn't hard to tell by the way she remained retracted within herself that she was hardly ready to figure out Molly's true purpose for stopping over. There wasn't much she could do at this point though, she simply had to brace for the worst and keep the faint hope within her heart alive.

* * *

"Fishing and fireworks? Wow, it all sounds so fun." Molly excitably remarked.

"It always has been." Luna agreed with a smile as Molly went back to finishing her cheese omelet. "I've never bothered with any of that fishing junk though. Urgh, just imagining one of those slimy little things coming out of the water right at me all slippery and covered in mud? Yuck! And to think a girl like Renee actually enjoys handling them all the time."

"Oh come on Luna, it's not all that bad. It's actually pretty fun." Molly argued.

Shelly lowered her fork down beside her plate and rested her free hand upon her cheek, breaking out in a faint blush as she started to reminisce. "Hm, I remember spending the long summer nights out over on the pier to fish with your grandfather back in the day. Hoho, but that was before even Candace was born if I believe."

"Sheesh, you too grandma?" Luna asked, almost rolling her eyes.

"Well, it was mostly your grandfather but I won't deny that it was fun." She replied with a bit of a giggle.

"You should give it a try Luna." Molly suggested. "You might actually enjoy it."

"Blergh, no thanks." She pouted before turning to her sister. "You agree with me don't you Candace?"

Candace, once again, was found picking at the scraps left about her plate when she was finally addressed. Unlike the soup from the night before she had actually been taking to slowly pecking away at the food provided for her this time around, likely as a result of having neglected dinner in the first place.

"H-Huh …?" She questioned, having been mostly ignoring the others' chatter for much of the conversation.

"That fishing is just… blech, gross." Luna replied.

"Fishing…? I mean I-I don't know… I don't know how. I probably wouldn't be very good…" She answered quietly, still a bit uncertain at what exactly she was being asked.

"Hey, I, I bet you'd be great at it. It's not that hard to figure out." Molly voice sounded just as soft. She looked down at her barren plate and scratched at it with her fork for a moment before addressing her again. "Yeah, haha, I… I bet I could teach you a thing or two before the festival in a few days so you could compete. Heh…"

Candace became flustered and her cheeks began to shift towards a redder shade prompting her to immediately drop her view down to the dish in front of her.

"O-oh no, no, no… I couldn't…" She stuttered.

"Now why not?" Shelly asked. "I think it sounds like it could be fun. Plus it'd give you an excuse to go out and enjoy the last of this beautiful summer weather. I can't remember the last time we had a season this pleasant."

Molly smiled and looked somewhat off to the side as if to conceal something other than the newly appearing color on her face.

"Yeah Candace, what do you say?" She then asked a moment later.

Candace glanced back up at Molly's smiling face before looking over at her grandmother. She proceeded to give her a nod causing her to then look over at Luna who simply offered her a shrug.

"I-I mean I guess you can… i-if you want to you know…" She answered back, looking down at her place setting again. "If you don't I understand…"

"Really?" Molly chirped with a hint of glee. "Sounds great. I can't wait."

The side of Candace's lip curled upwards as she tried to mimic her excitement. Much like with Luna the night before she could feel a faint flicker of hope emanating from within her heart. It was new and felt almost scary, but somehow in a good way.

"Well it seems like everyone's just about done here. Why don't I clean up then?" Proposed Shelly as she rose from her seat. "Luna, would you care to give me a hand.

Luna just about winced in her chair. "Oh geeze, I'd love to grandma, but I still have to finish up unpacking." She held her pinkie out and wiggled it about. "A promise is promise."

Shelly rolled her eyes and shook her head, admittedly amused by her granddaughter's clever excuse as she watched her scurry from the kitchen. "What about you Candace."

"Actually, I was kind of hoping to have a quick chat with Candace if that's alright." Molly asked. "It's the whole reason I came here."

Candace felt as her heartrate steadily increased towards a full on sprint. The sense of fear she had towards Molly's possible intentions that had been kept at bay by her family presence was now essentially free to run rampant. It all depended on Shelly's answer.

"Well I don't see why not." Shelly responded. "It'd be rude of me to keep you here any longer than you need to be. I'm sure you've got plenty of work to get to back on your farm."

"Really? Thanks." Molly turned to Candace. "What do you say Candace? Would you like to go on a quick walk with me?"

Her heart was virtually pounding against her ribcage at this point.

"S-S-Sure…" Her tone sounded woefully defeated, having accepted that whatever Molly had planned to discuss with her was unavoidable.

The disheartening implications of her characteristic answer were lost on Molly, however.

"Great, let's go then." She beamed as she rose from her seat. "I'll try not to keep her long."

* * *

Something about Molly became noticeably distressing once they stepped outside and out of the view of Candace's family. Much like at the bar it was evident now more than ever that something was clearly eating away at her, likely the same thing she so desperately seemed to want to speak to Candace about.

"So… Wherever then?" She asked.

Candace failed to understand. "Huh?"

"For the walk." She clarified. "I didn't really have any particular place in mind for where to go."

"Oh, s-sure… that's fine…" Candace replied.

Molly's expression appeared glum at first before she attempted to break it with a smile, only to revert back to her original look. "Right… We can just head over towards my place I guess."

Candace didn't even as much as nod and simply followed at Molly's side as she began to head down the trail. Even as they passed through the imaginary boundaries between Harmonica town and the fields Molly remained silent in deep thought, appearing to be carefully considering her words.

"Candace… I… I'm just so sorry…" She finally confessed.

"What…?" She asked.

"About… well, about the last time I actually spoke to you." She came to a stop in the middle of the road as she further explained herself. "Over by the mailbox…"

Candace remained silent and deeply focused on her.

"It's… it's just been bothering me the whole time since then…" She continued.

"What do y-you mean…?" Candace asked.

Molly's head hung down in shame. "About how I just, well, blew up on you out of nowhere…"

Candace's mind began to grow confused. To her she was supposed to be the one who had to apologize for pestering her, not the other way around.

"It was wrong of me Candace, so wrong…" Molly's voice sounded broken, as if the weight of regret had been suffocating her to death. "You were just being curious like any good friend would be and I just lashed out at you for it for nothing…"

Candace's hands came close to her chest as empathy flooded over her.

"I don't know why I've been so afraid to apologize to you for it and I've just been using work as an excuse to put it off…" She admitted. "It's been bugging me all night and day and I should have just tried to say it sooner… I'm a terrible friend Candace… I'm really sorry." She hugged herself and looked off towards the distance. "I didn't deserve all those nice things you said to me yesterday… not if I'm going to treat you like that…"

Candace remained still with her mouth agape in disbelief. This far from what she had expected to happen, far, far, from it. She had been prepared to throw herself at Molly's mercy and ask for her forgiveness in regards to the aggravation she'd caused her, even attempting to brace herself mentality for when Molly would give the official announcement that they were no longer friends. Now she was left without a clue as to what she was supposed to do.

"I understand if you think it'd be better if we don't see each other as much anymore… or at all…" She mumbled that last part. "It's okay… You don't deserve someone like me who treats you like that…"

Candace lowered her head, the waterworks of her eyes strangely prepared to activate. She felt sorry for Molly. The weight of her words, her distressing body language and general unhappiness at the moment, she sympathized with it _far_ too well.

"Molly… I… I-I… I still want to be f-friends…" It pained her to know that to a certain extant she knew the driving motivation for her to say that was her own benefit, not Molly's.

Molly looked up at her, her expression a mixture of surprise and relief.

"Really…? You… you don't hate me for all of that?" She asked.

"Molly… I… I t-thought you were the one m-mad at me this whole time…" She admitted.

Her eyebrows lowered in confusion. "What? Why?"

"Because I was the one that b-bothered you…" She answered, her arms falling to her side. "You t-told me to stop asking about your f-f-family but I kept doing it anyw-way…"

Molly started to give a light laugh at the growing absurdity of the situation. "Really?"

Candace exhaled deeply as her head began to wilt. "It's… it's just t-that… every time you've t-talked to me it's… it's made me f-feel better… I just thought that i-if I tried talking to you… I'd make you feel b-better too…"

She stood motionless before her, as broken as ever. She didn't know what provoked her into admitting such a personal fact such as that but now that she had all she could do was feel embarrassed for herself at how pathetic it must sound.

Soon she felt as Molly embraced her, placing her head off to the side of her own.

"Thank you Candace…" She whispered. "Thank you…"

Candace remained still in her grasp.

"I've never had someone care enough to try and help me like that…" She admitted before backing off. "You really are a good friend you know that?"

Candace looked away from her, deathly afraid to accept her words.

"I mean it Candace." She argued, seeing that she had to convince her friend that was speaking the truth. "Anyone would be lucky to be friends with someone as caring as you."

Slowly, Candace started to look her way, seeing that typical smile painted on her face. "R-Really…"

"Of course." Molly replied before pulling her in for another quick hug. "I'm really glad we met."

As Molly drew her close enough to start feeling the warmth emanating from her own body Candace began to feel that spark within her heart begin to flare up once more. She had never felt anything like it before in her life. It was like feeling butterflies in her stomach only something about it felt more joyous, more wonderful.

All she could say for certain about this mysterious sensation coursing through her body was that she liked it, and above all else, she wanted more of it.

* * *

 _A/N: Originally this chapter was planned to be combined with the next one and act as the first half but I've ended up adding more to it than originally planned and had to break it up in order to not make it completely overwhelming. (Admittedly a lot of the plot aside from the big points is actually improvised as I write, more so than I'd care to admit, and it somehow manages to make sense when I fit it into the storyoutline.) I've also gone ahead and edited the story description ever so slightly since Candace's bout with depression has become a bigger point than initially planned, not that anyone seems to have an issue with that though. Unimportant details aside I hope you enjoyed the chapter and I'll see to getting the next one out as soon as the schedule permits!_


	8. Family

Whereas Molly was quick to return to her work after making amends the sense of joy within Candace's heart made no attempt to follow in her footsteps. It continued to burn brightly from within as she lingered atop the spot in the middle of the road where her and Molly had hugged, clutching her chest as if to prevent it from fleeing. The warm summer breeze drifted past her and into the town as she remained still in an attempt to understand what it was exactly that she was feeling. Gently, she closed her eyes and began to take a series of slow deep breaths.

Her hand could feel as her heart delicately pounded up against her skin and through her two layers of clothing to reach the very nerves of her palm. She recognized the sensation and felt as though she was supposed to be either nervous or deathly anxious but instead every fiber of her being sang out in joy. Was this what it felt to be truly happy? She was uncertain.

At the very least she now knew that there wasn't a single doubt that her and Molly had become fairly good friends at this point. Naturally such a revelation should bring joy to her but the unfamiliar tingly sensation deep inside her brought nothing but confusion. She had attempted to feel happy in so many different instances before but each time something had lied in wait to snatch it away a few moments later. But something about this felt different. What was it?

As her feet started to slowly maneuver themselves back onto the path heading home she continued to carry her delicate heart as carefully as she could. After the stress she had needlessly placed upon herself all morning she didn't know what would happen if it were to become fractured once more. In front of the door to the tailor's she paused for a moment and turned back to the summer scene behind her, noticing how much brighter it seemed.

Inside she found both Shelly and Luna had relocated themselves over to the shop. As Luna curiously poked around the crafting table Shelly glanced up at her blue haired granddaughter from behind the register as the door audibly shut behind her.

"Why there you are Candace." She spoke with a smile. "Back from your walk already?"

To her surprise she found that she didn't at all grow startled at being addressed for once, but nonetheless kept her hands close over her chest as she slowly nodded in silence.

Shelly smiled and returned her focus to the contents of her counter. "Molly didn't cut things short because of anything I said did she? I didn't really need any extra help with the dishes if that's what she thought."

Candace leisurely started to lower her hands as her head shook side to side. "N-No. She had work she had t-to do back home."

Her grandmother glanced back up at her to flash a smile. "Well that's a relief to hear. She's such a nice girl. I'd hate to have inconvenienced her in anyway, especially with how well you two seem to get along." A faint blush emerged on Candace's face. "Did she have anything interesting to say?"

In an instant that muffled shade of red upon her cheeks washed away along with the remaining color on her face. A sense of Déjà vu came over her as she once again found herself unable to willingly detail yet another meeting she had with Molly. With her refusal to disclose of the incident that had occurred between them just a short week ago to anyone combined with her and Molly's public interactions since then the truth seemed more like an odd thing to admit to rather than something to be afraid of for once.

"She… she j-just wanted to talk…" Candace took another pause, the realization of the obviousness of what she had said hitting her like a ton of bricks. "A-And say t-thanks…"

"Oh? Thanks for what might I ask?" Shelly questioned as she turned back to her granddaughter with a puzzled look.

Candace stopped dead in her tracks again; her mind had finally registered what she'd said and froze in shock.

"It was probably for getting everyone to compliment her yesterday." Luna answered for her as she glanced back at the pair, her attention still largely focused on the mess scattered about the sewing station. Internally, Candace breathed a sigh of relief. "That was probably it right? Hm, you should have seen it grandma, Candace had that poor girl's face as red as, Oh!" Her eyes lit up alongside her voice as she presented the infamous crimson scarf that lay hidden amongst the mess of cloth. "As red as this scarf."

"Why, you didn't tell me about that Candace." Shelly said with a smile. "That certainly sounds nice of you. I'm sure Molly's happy to have a friend like you."

In an instant the rosy shade that had vanished from her pale face returned to her in full force at the memory of Molly's heartfelt confirmation of the fact.

"It… it was n-nothing…" She broke out in a furious blush. Inside, her heart began to jump aflutter again, almost at just the very thought of Molly.

"Well I'm sure she certainly appreciates it." Shelly remarked. "It seems to sound like she did at the very least."

Candace's neck continued to recede further into the collar of her sweater as the hint of red upon her cheeks showed no sign of waning anytime soon. Again, it began to feel as though butterflies had once again been unleashed inside her stomach and for a second time she strangely enjoyed. She was nervous, that much was certain, but it felt exciting as though this was a reason for her to feel happy as well. Her eyes shot about the room looking for anything that would take her mind off of this strange sensation when they finally caught the sight of Luna holding the scarf that had plagued her for so long. In an instant the tickling within her gut returned to its common anxiety caused state.

"L-Luna!" She gasped as her hands shot straight up to cover her mouth.

Her sister gazed at her with a raised eyebrow. "Something the matter Candace?"

Her sapphire tinted eyes caught the sight of Shelly observing her, just as puzzled, within the corner of her view and she slowly lowered her hands down over her chest. Shaking her head she hoped that she hadn't already started to once again make a fool out of herself. "N-No… Nothing's wrong."

Luna curled the side of her lips upwards a bit as if to indicate she knew it was a lie before looking down at the scarf in her hands. Delicately, she ran her hand across the cloth, examining every minute portion of the linen's surface. Upon coming across the trace of pink thread hidden that sat near the edge of the fabric she paused and gently caressed it, a smile on her face.

"This scarf looks really nice." The tone of her praise matched that of her earnest expression. "Did you make this Candace?"

Candace swallowed the lump in her throat down hard. The answer felt painfully obvious to her that such a question wasn't even needed but of course everyone in the room expected some kind of response from her. At this point there was hardly any reason to fear her handiwork. The hole was noticeably fixed leaving her with nothing to prevent her from finishing it, let alone continue to dread its existence. Yet a single shred of anxiety just small enough to cripple her confidence appeared to be holding onto her for dear life.

"Yeah… It's n-nothing special though…" Her response was quiet as she attempted to compromise with her emotions, hoping that the fear in her mind could meet the belief in her heart halfway.

Her modesty earned a giggle from Luna. "Well no one said it had to be anything special." Her eyes glanced down towards her thumb as it continued to rub up and down the sewn up gash. "It looks like there might have been a tear here though?" She asked while gesturing with the material before turning back towards the table, hardly giving Candace a chance second to answer back. "Hm, I kind of like this little touch of pink you gave it though, makes it look all unique."

In spite of yet another round of praise from her sister Candace could only feel embarrassment at her observation. Was her mistake that easy to be spotted?

"I didn't know you accidentally tore a hole in that." Shelly said as she stepped back from behind the counter and over to Luna's side to examine the piece for herself. "Is this why you've been working on it for so long? You know if you needed help fixing it up you could have just asked me to take a look at it."

The pair turned back over to Candace to witness as despair started to fully take control of her once more. Her posture sank as her arms slung themselves around her body to keep herself from falling apart right then and there. Frightfully, her eyes floated back up to the sewing station where she noticed her sister's face was now covered in a veil of regret. As Candace looked down at her feet Luna pulled the scarf away from Shelly.

"Come on now grandma, Candace is a fantastic tailor. If she wanted to fix it right away then I'm sure she was more than capable of doing so herself." She argued for her sister's sake. "She probably had a reason for putting it off."

Candace shyly peeked back up at Luna and received a swift wink.

"I suppose that is true." Shelly agreed as she looked about at her granddaughter's handiwork around the room with a delightful smile. "She certainly did get your mother's talent in spades. I've never seen more wonderful designs than these."

Luna's arms fell to her side as her lips bent into a frown. "Sheesh grandma, I'm right here…"

Shelly's eyes nearly popped out from behind her glasses when the unintended callousness of her remarked dawned on her. "Oh my! Luna, I didn't mean it like that!"

Luna rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah, I know…" She idly tossed the scarf back onto the table at her side as she said so, hanging her head down in the process.

As Candace began to relax her grip around herself she took a step forward. "I always l-liked your designs Luna." Like Molly beforehand, she identified with the worthless value her sister appeared to be placing in herself better than anything else and knew it had to be remedied quickly before it overtook her completely.

"Thanks Candace…" Luna slightly smiled. Timidly, her body turned back to the sewing station before she peeked back at her sister. "Hm, think that maybe you can give me a few pointers sometime though?"

Candace's cheeks became coated in a nervous crimson blush as Luna giggled to herself.

"What? I'm gonna need some help here if I ever want to be able to impress grandma." She teased towards Shelly.

"Now Luna I told you I didn't mean anything rude by my comment." Maintained Shelly. "It's just that you've been gone for so long now I must have forgotten how wonderful your work must look too."

"I guess that's fair." Luna shrugged as she refocused on Candace. "What do you say though sis? Care to help me out?"

Strangely enough, Candace's pessimistic attitude forbid her from shaking the feeling that Luna was in fact trying to mess with her which in turn only made her feel guilty about attempting to accuse her own sister of such a thing. The smile upon Luna's face was warm and inviting, not that of a fiendish trickster like her nagging cynicism wanted her to believe.

Calmly, she lowered her hands down below her waist and nodded. "Sure… I-I mean if you really want me to…"

Her sister's eyes lit up with excitement as she swiftly snagged the stool behind her and set it up besides the other before the sewing table. "Well what are you waiting for then? Come on."

Candace trembled and took a step back, a faint gasp coming from her now slightly concealed mouth. "W-What? Now?"

"Well why not?" Luna started to frown. "Did you have something else in mind for today?"

"No, n-no, it's not that…" Candace murmured while shaking her head.

"How come then?" Asked Luna sincerely. "You know how much I enjoy watching you work."

Candace paused and shut her eyes while taking in a deep breath. Her mind thought back to when they were children and all those late nights she'd stay up tirelessly working while Luna would pull out one of the larger chairs from the kitchen so she'd be able to sit high enough to watch her sister work. Though she placed the same level of confidence in her work then as she did now it hardly stopped Luna from beaming with delight every time she finished a piece. Without hesitation her pink-haired observer would snag the completed attire once presented to her for approval and head for the nearest mirror to try it on, showering her sister with a never ending fountain of compliments. It never did cause her to truly believe in the remarkable skill she was said to possess but nonetheless it always managed to fill her heart with a sense of joy.

It was a sense that seemed to have long been forgotten to her.

Now it appeared to take a serious effort to get her to feel anything other than empty inside. An effort that few seemed to be willing to give her. Her brief trip down memory lane began to quickly become bittersweet as she was now left to question what had changed to trigger such an effect on her. Perhaps when Castanet had started to fade what little remained of her heart had fled too.

"Candace…?" She heard her grandmother's voice speak to her.

Her body gave another tremble as she reopened her eyes, realizing as only a few seconds had passed in reality. She lowered her head in hopes to block the view of her red stained eyes. "N-Nothing! I-It's nothing!"

"Are you alright Candace?" Shelly asked as she approached her granddaughter. "You aren't starting to feel sick or anything again are you?"

Candace's view shot straight back up as she slid away. "N-No! I'm fine, really."

Shelly gave a frown as Luna separated the two stools.

"Hey, if you don't want to that's alright." She spoke softly. "I don't mind, I can find something else to do."

Candace looked upon her sister as she stood beside the sewing table for another moment with her head hung down before slowly tilting it up towards her. It was evident by her frowning expression that she was disappointed no matter how hard she might have been trying to say otherwise. Candace's arms wrapped themselves tightly around her body as she focused every fiber of her being on smiling.

"No… If… If you r-really want me to sew for you I c-can…" She told her if only to keep the crushing sense of impending guilt at bay.

Without delay Luna's head perked up as her frown transformed into an inviting and eager smile she hadn't seen in years. "Are, are you sure?"

Though her anxiety was far from fully shaken off the warmth emanating from her sister was more than enough to get her to nod back. "Sure, it'll be f-fun."

* * *

Shelly casually remained behind the register and watched with a close eye as her two granddaughters quietly and unintentionally replicated the days of their youth for the rest of the afternoon and into the night. Luna had positioned herself right at Candace's side and observed her sister as she went about finally completing the scarf that had long since tormented her mind. Her eyes hardly blinked as they followed every slight movement of her sister's hands while they delicately went about their task, completely enamored by her remarkable skill.

Candace all the while found difficulty in ensuring that the rapid beating of her heart didn't become audible. Able to practically feel her sister's gentle breathing against her neck as she watched in silence her mind endlessly harassed her about the anticipated failure that it wanted to believe lied ahead.

"This is it!" it would yell at her, "She's going to see what a failure you are! You wouldn't dare screw up in front of _her_ would you? She already knows how awful you are, why are you even trying to impress her?"

Such thoughts failed to truly reach her however. She found herself more so listening to the sound of determination that grew in her heart as it beat faster and louder as the day went on, almost like a furious war drum. Slowly but surely, she was coming to realize that if she wanted to overcome the darkness that had tormented her for so long she had to act and not give in. Even so, the war raging between her heart and mind didn't reach a complete standstill until she finally heard Luna give a might yawn at her side partway into the evening.

Silently, she looked at her sister and watched as she rubbed the budding sleep from her eyes.

"Sorry sis, but I think I gotta call it quits here." She sighed with exhaustion.

Candace set her utensils down as to give Luna her undivided attention. "Oh, no, that's o-okay."

Luna smiled and gave her sister a warm hug as she rose from her seat. "I had fun today though. You really are amazing when it comes to crafting something beautiful you know that?"

Modestly, Candace's view set upon the fairly plain, but nearly finished, scarf sitting in front of her. She sighed and closed her eyes before looking back up at her sister. "Luna… why d-do you enjoy watching me sew and knit s-so much…?"

Her sister raised one of her thin eyebrows at her.

"I-I mean the stuff that I make isn't all t-that incredible like you always try to say it is…" She said softly. "They're really n-not that good…"

With a sigh Luna reseated herself beside her sister and placed her hands upon her shoulders, focusing her view straight on her sapphire blue eyes as they attempted to wander away.

"Candace, look at me…" She asked. As much as she'd rather not have Candace complied. "I know you probably think that I always go about complimenting you when you work just because you're my sister and… well that is true but I also really do mean it." She motioned towards the numerous displays atop the room. "I mean look at these designs. In all the time I spent traveling I never once saw an outfit that looked better than something I've seen you make."

Candace kept her eyes on her for a moment and tried to smile but looked back away.

"I mean it Candace." Luna practically shook her sister to bring her focus back on her. "Even at some of the schools I looked at out there not one of the other stylists I saw put as much heart into their work as you do."

Candace's mouth fell agape. "W-What…?"

Luna gently closed her eyes and sighed. "I… I know how much your work means to you… Even this scarf probably meant a lot to you too." She brought her view back up to Candace's eyes and smiled. "You put so much effort into every little step you take when making something that I know whatever it is its going to turn out great…"

Her sister offered no sort of response, again allowing her view to drift off to the side.

Gently, Luna placed her hand upon her sister's shoulder and let it tenderly slide down her arm. "Mom would be really proud of you Candace…"

She looked back up at her in silence, her eyes starting to become red and puffy.

"I know it…" Luna continued as her voice began to audibly crack. "I'm sure she'd be glad that one of us took all of her lessons to heart… Wherever she is I'm sure she's proud…"

Without a word Candace threw herself at her sister and hugged her as tight as she could, allowing the tears in her eyes to cascade down her cheeks. She could feel as her sister's petite body trembled with her as she cried a little as well.

"T-Thank you Luna…" She uttered. "Thank y-you…"

Luna calmly started to rub her back.

Though they now both sat alone with one another in the dimly lit corner of the store crying Candace could sense as she was clearly the more emotional of the two at the time. Yet for once her mind failed to think of the situation as a contest as it so often would. Instead it chose not to offer any sort of commentary at all, simply allowing her to lovingly embrace her sister without any sort of doubt in herself.

In its place all she could hear was the sound of her heart, listening to it cry with love for her sister. She continued to cry with it, happy to finally be doing so for a purpose.

She didn't care who was stronger between her or Luna at the time. She didn't care if anyone saw them at such a personal moment. She didn't even care if her happiness would last this time.

All she cared about was truly understanding how much she loved her sister.

* * *

 _A/N: Originally this was all supposed to be a condensed intro to what is now the next chapter but I clearly have issues sticking to the script. Oh well, fleshing out Candace' and Luna's relationship more can't hurt I guess._


	9. Friendship

Though it came muffled by the walls of the bedroom Candace found herself stirred in her sleep by what sounded like the front door shutting in the other room. Groggily, she rose up from beneath her bedsheets and rubbed her eyes as her body slowly came to. With her hands quietly falling upon her lap she turned over towards Luna's bed to see if the noise had managed to awaken her sister as well only to find it made up and empty. With a quick scan of the room showing no sign of Luna her thoughts shifted to whether the door's usage were the result of either her or Shelly letting somebody in or leaving.

Gradually sliding herself out of bed she was careful to take a few extra precautions given the events of the previous morning. Dressing up in her standard attire before even thinking about leaving the room she then quietly creeped over to the door and listened for anyone on the other end. When not even a single peep made itself heard through its cracks she carefully began to open it. Neither it nor herself managed to abruptly smack into anyone this time around as she safely made her way into the kitchen where Shelly sat in wait at the table. With her back to the door she took a sip of the hot tea that filled her cup before turning back at her granddaughter.

"Good morning Candace." She greeted with a smile before returning to her tea. "Did you sleep well?"

Candace nodded regardless of the fact she wasn't looking. "I g-guess so."

"Hm, with how late you and Luna seemed to have stayed up last night I'm surprised to see both of you awake so early this morning. I suppose that isn't all too strange for Luna though, she always did enjoy trying to be the first one up." She thought aloud to herself.

Either Candace's sense of self-loathing was still back asleep in bed or she was finally learning what it meant to be positive for once because her mind made no attempt to twist her grandmother's remark about Luna into a comment against herself. Instead it just allowed the words drift into her ears exactly as spoken.

"I heard the d-door shut and thought we might have c-company again." She replied.

"Oh? You managed to hear that from all the way back in the bedroom? My, you've certainly got good ears there Candace." Shelly said as a brief case of the giggles came over her. "I'm afraid we don't have any visitors for this morning though, that was actually just Luna heading out for the day. She wanted to go drop by Hayden's and catch up with Kathy today. I'm sure those two are just going to want to chat the day away now like they always do, though I do hope Luna doesn't distract her too much. I'm sure she's got to be busy helping her dad prepare for tomorrow."

Inside, Candace could feel as her depression finally began to awaken. Her mind found itself easily filled with damaging thoughts of how Luna had managed to be graced with the ability to capture someone's attention for so long while she herself would be lucky to hold anyone's interest for more than a few minutes. In spite of her now dampened moon she found herself still able to speak as though it hadn't truly affected her yet.

"I'm sure if Luna's being t-too distracting Kathy will just t-tell her." She replied quietly.

"I suppose that's fair, but you know that sister of yours can be." She said while shaking her head. Turning back to face Candace she then patted the empty place setting at her right. "Now why don't you have a seat and help me finish up breakfast here?"

Candace looked down at the assortment of jam covered toast, and fruit that sat upon the center of the table, her stomach giving a low grumble of approval. Seating herself at the indicated chair she grabbed a piece of bread and an orange for herself as Shelly filled her cup with tea.

"I'm sure everyone just can't wait for the festival tomorrow." She began while setting the teapot down. "It's been so long since we've been able to really get together and have fun without having to all secretly worry about things around here."

Candace quietly nibbled on her toast, still uncertain if she'd be willing to participate in the occasion herself. "Yeah, everyone m-must be excited..."

"And to think that if things manage to stay this way we'll be able to get back to running our little stalls to show off all you and Luna's beautiful designs." She continued. "Oh I just love that everything's going back to normal around here."

Clutching her cup close to her chest, Candace's head began to droop down. "N-Normal… yeah…" Her voice trailed off. To her, things being normal around Castanet meant that she'd remain to be alone in the corner of the shop working on unappreciated designs while everyone else's day went on as if she didn't exist. Just like that she found herself slipping back into her unenthusiastic self.

"Is something wrong dear?" Shelly asked.

Candace silently shook her head in typical fashion.

With a sigh Shelly set her cup down off to the side and scooted her chair close to Candace. "Are you sure Candace? You seem like you've been awfully bothered by something lately."

"I'm… I'm f-fine grandma… H-Honest…" She replied softly. That kind spirited voice in her head was practically begging her to use this chance to alert Shelly to the unpredictable amounts of depression that had been plaguing her as of late but the rest of her mind was in agreement that this was nothing new. Instead she just shifted her eyes towards Shelly and waited for her to begin disagreeing with her answer.

"Candace, it's okay to tell me if something's wrong, there's no shame in it. It's not like I'm going to get mad or something. I just want to help if I can, that's all." Shelly explained. Her tone was gentle and understanding, much like when Luna had told her the same.

Still, this was the sort of encounter her fear absolutely lived for. As such she shook her head one more, afraid to admit the true about her easily broken spirit. "Really g-grandma, I'm fine…"

Obvious she was lying as her posture continued to sink into her chair, Shelly leaned forward and rested her hand upon Candace's shoulder before gently stroking it. "Now, now, your grandmother can tell a lie when she hears one. If something's bothering you and you don't want to tell me then I suppose that's your choice. I'm not going to force you to be uncomfortable if you don't want to be. But I want you to listen to me when I tell you that you're a strong young woman." She spoke softly as Candace glanced up at her. "I've seen you do wonderful things when you really put your mind to it and I know you have it in you to overcome whatever may be bothering you, no matter how big it may seem."

Candace delicately set her cup down on the table before taking her grandmother's hand. "Thank you…" She whispered quietly as she squeezed it for comfort.

"Now there's the smile I love to see." Shelly smiled as well. "Say, why don't you finish up your breakfast first and then go spend the day outside and enjoy the last of that summer sun, hm? You do always seem to come home happier after you've spent some time out in the town."

While the smile on her face managed to stick around Candace could feel her stomach twist into knots at the very suggestion. What was she to do outside? Where was she to go?

"I… I d-don't know…" She replied as she released Shelly's hand and rested her own in her lap. In all honesty she hadn't exactly made any plans for the day and with Luna gone and her notorious scarf finished there was hardly a readily available excuse to stay inside, not that she ever really needed one before.

"Come now, you spent all of yesterday cooped up in here with your sister. I'm sure the fresh air will do you wonders." Argued Shelly.

"Y-Yeah, but… I mean I'll be out all day t-tomorrow right?" She halfheartedly said, none too thrilled about essentially committing to attending the festival tomorrow if it meant keeping her "safe" today.

"Well I don't see why that should stop you from doing so today as well." Shelly mused to herself as she returned to her tea.

As Shelly continued to slowly refocus on sipping away the contents of her cup Candace lowered her head and contemplated options. For as much as she feared the outside and the numerous awkward situations she could only see herself getting into the dread of spending the day inside with probably judgmental Shelly felt even worse.

"I… I s-suppose you're right…" She mumbled with a defeated gaze as she brought her head back up.

Shelly briefly smiled while drinking from her cup. "There's nothing to worry about Candace. I'm sure a relaxing day out in the sun before all the excitement tomorrow will show you just that."

Candace glanced down at her plate of half eaten food as she felt her agitation eat away at the last of her appetite. "I'm not h-hungry anymore." She said as she stood from her seat.

"Oh? Are you sure?" Shelly asked as Candace began to drag herself off towards the door. "You can take some with you if you'd like."

Her head shook side to side as she reached for the handle of the front door, ready to simply thrust herself into whatever torments awaited her beyond it. All her experience as of late that had shown her going outside wasn't meant to be feared had failed to put even a single dent in her attitude when it actually came time to do so. As a result Shelly was left to awkwardly watch from her seat at the table as her granddaughter eventually managed to find the temporary courage to drag herself out of the house.

She hesitated to return to her tea as the door quietly drifted shut, uncertain if she had done the right thing.

* * *

With the summer heat beating down upon the heavy fabric her outer layer, Candace's mind was set abuzz like a hive of angry bees. Discouraging thoughts bounced around every bright corner of her mind as she struggled to determine what she was supposed to do now. Should she go and waste the day up at the church annoying Perry like she'd usually do? She could try to find Luna see how things were going between her and Kathy but that would likely result in her standing within the shade of her sister's shadow yet again. Then there was the part of her that wanted to turn around and start clawing at the door like a pet that already wanted to be let back in after just getting sent out.

With a heavy sigh, she hugged herself tightly and watched as the wind blew out in the direction of the farming fields. With hardly much of a delay her raging thoughts began to calm for a moment as they turned to Molly. Certainly after their conversation the previous morning they had to be a decent level of friends, much like Kathy and Luna, meaning that it shouldn't be _too_ strange for her to stop by for a visit, right? Regardless of the answer her mind wanted to give Candace found herself mindlessly placing one foot in front of the other along the path out of town. Her pace was hardly fast enough to outrun her pursuing anxiety however.

" _She's going to be far too busy to have time for you."_ It whispered into her ear. _"She won't be home. Someone far more interesting is already going to be with her..."_

Unwilling to hear such thoughts continue to plague her, Candace released herself from her grip and held her head as she shook it wildly side to side. Her mind temporarily went blank as she refocused her view ahead just as she happened to arrive at her destination. From her spot just past the edge of Molly's property she paused and again filled with terror as she spotted the young farmer in question sitting in the middle of her field beneath the shade of a large tree.

The color quickly washed from her face as fear leapt up on her as she finally realized that she had never before tried to be the instigator of an encounter like this. Was she supposed to call to her from her spot like Molly typical would or should she approach her first before speaking? Should she try to attract her attention as she move toward her? What if she were to startle her? Would it just make her mad? Upset?

"Candace? Is that you?"

A mighty tremor passed through Candace's body as Molly's voice passing through her ears caused her mind to go completely blank yet again.

"Hey! I'm over here Candace!" She shouted.

Bringing her hands close to her chest Candace looked over to see as Molly waved at her from her spot. Frightened, she quickly opened her hand and shut it to return the gesture.

"Hey! Come on over in the shade and sit with me for a bit!" She continued to wave.

Without any other choice Candace kicked up the dirt from the road as she shuffled her feet along towards Molly.

"Hey, long time no see, eh?" She smiled.

Candace looked off at the side, per usual. "Y-Yeah… I guess so…"

Molly gave a giggle that'd have been infectious to anyone else as she slid the basket full of apples beside her away and patted the soil it formerly sat upon. "Come on, take a seat."

It was hard to spot beneath the shadow of the apple tree but the pleasantness of her act triggered a pale blush on Candace's cheeks. She'd never been offered so much consideration from someone before. Quietly, she took a seat beside Molly and wrapped her arms around her legs, still far too shy to even look her friend in the eyes.

"Hm, it's such a lovely day out isn't it?" Sighed Molly happily as she leaned back against the base of the tree.

Candace gave a slight nod. "Yeah…"

"So what brought you out this way?" She asked while glancing at her. "You decide to come out and enjoy the weather?"

"W-Well yeah…" Candace paused for a moment as she struggling with whether to leave it at that or admit that she had actually come looking for her. Her heart ultimately told her it wouldn't be fair to remain quiet. "But… I… I actually really c-came out t-to… to see y-you…" She scrunched up from embarrassment as she spoke, certain that she had just made Molly uncomfortable.

"Really?" Molly asked as her cheeks gained a faint touch of red. "Hehe, you came at the right time then, I just finished working for the day."

"O-Oh, well I guess that's g-good then… r-right…?" Candace stuttered from receiving the opposite response she had anticipated.

Molly just continued to giggle and smile. "Speaking of," She reached for the basket at her side and removed an apple from the top of the pile. "Here, wanna try one?" She held it out for Candace to take. "I just picked my first batch of apples. Ha ha, here's hoping they're good."

Candace held it in her lap and examined it. It was as red as any apple could ever hope to be and looked unquestionably delicious, yet even as her stomach gave an approving grumble she held it back out to return to Molly, her insides far too nervous to even think about food.

"N-No thanks…" She said quietly, filled with guilt at returning her friends little gift.

"What, you think it's not going to be good enough because I grew it?" Molly unexpectedly laughed as she took it back. "Just kidding! It's fine if you're not hungry." She took a bite out of the apple herself and smiled. "Mmm, it's pretty good though, I'd have never thought I could grow something this tasty."

Candace further contracted her legs, feeling even guiltier now. "I-I would've thought you could g-grow something that good…"

"Heh, thanks…" Molly nervously spoke as she turned away to hide her face which now grew almost as red as her apple. "You really are sweet you know that. This is my first time ever farming and my first actual harvest. I didn't think I'd do so well. It's… it's nice you have so much confidence in me."

Candace diverted her attention elsewhere as she heard Molly further lean back into the tree, feeling as though her hand seemed to be drifting closer to her. Slowly, she rotated herself to find Molly relaxing upon the tree's bumpy surface with her eyes shut. After a moment they reopened as she gazed upon her with the most grateful smile she'd ever seen. Quickly, Candace turned back away and broke out in a nervous blush, too afraid to speak.

Molly giggled yet again before fumbling around with the bitten apple in her hands. "So… did you have any particular reason for stopping by…? Did you… need anything?"

"N-No, I… I was just w-well… I was hoping that m-maybe we could… that maybe we c-could… spend… sometime together…?" She answered as her heart's pounding filled her ears.

"Oh… really?" Molly asked.

Candace's squeezed around her legs so much they felt as though they were about to burst. _"This is it! She's going to say no!"_

"Sure, sounds great!" Molly chirped. "What'd you have in mind? Just hanging out or something else?"

Her poor heart felt like it was ready to burst. She'd never anticipated getting this far, let alone finding Molly so easily. Tightening her grip for a moment, she paused and tried to take a series of deep breaths to calm herself.

"Well… I… I r-really didn't think of anything, r-really…" She lowered her head. "I'm s-sorry…"

Molly smiled and leaned back against the tree once more. "That's fine, we can just sit here and relax together. I don't mind."

For as satisfied as she sounded Candace couldn't help but feel as though she was actually disappointed. She felt like she was letting her down by coming all this way to get her attention only to having nothing special. Retightening her arms hold around her wrapped legs, she sighed and lowered her head as the breeze ran through her hair. She thought back to how anytime Molly had shown up she always had something of value to say or do with her. Then she remembered.

"You… you told me yesterday t-that you could teach me how to f-fish…" She recalled. "We c-could do that… if you want…"

Molly turned to her, appearing puzzled. "Did I…? Oh! Right! I did! I did didn't I, ha ha."

Candace sank back, finding herself somewhat disheartened that she seemed to have forgotten, even if she herself almost did as well. "If you d-don't want to that's f-fine."

"No, hey, come on, it'll be fun." Molly replied as she stood from her spot while snatching the basket of fruit. "I just gotta put this back in the house and grab my stuff. Follow me."

Quietly, Candace stood from her spot and trailed behind Molly the short distance to the front of her home. There, she stopped and looked upon the battered house. The white paint that covered the outside walls of the home had long ago faded and begun to chip off in various spots while some of the outer planks around the edges had fallen off entirely. The roof was missing quite a few shingles and one of the windows was completely boarded up. Even in the dire times that now seemed so long ago she couldn't recall hearing of anyone else's home reaching such a condition.

Molly glanced over at her then back at the house. "I know what you're probably thinking, it doesn't really look all too cozy on the outside but hey, heh, it uh, beats living on the streets haha…" Her laugh sounded forced. "Or, you know, something like that right?"

Candace swiftly shook her head. "N-No, I think it's a lovely home."

Molly looked down at her feet and smiled. "Heh, thanks. Couldn't really turn it down when you guys were practically giving it away from free honestly. You're actually the first person I've ever had stop by so far. Well, aside from Hamilton when he showed me to it when I first got it. But that doesn't count."

"Oh, really?" Candace asked. She would have assumed that with how popular Molly seemed to be she'd have been visited plenty of times.

"Come on in, you can get the grand inside tour." Molly laughed as she continued to the door and held it open for her.

Candace hesitated for a moment before stepping inside. The interior of the home was much more maintained than the outside with hardly any real noticeable faults upon either the walls or floor. All the basic necessities such as a kitchen, dining table, and bed were all present and appeared to be just as preserved. Strangely, unless it was all hidden away in the dresser, there was very little that seemed to personally belong to Molly aside from the stray backpack beside her bed and a few framed photos atop the nightstand.

"Here you have it." Molly announced as she went and set the basket of apples beside the other crop bearing containers atop the table. "There really isn't much of a tour since there's only one room but hey, home sweet home."

Candace gave a tiny smile and resumed following Molly as she headed over to her tool box.

"I just got to dig around and find my pole and stuff, make yourself feel at home." She told her as she opened the chest and started to rummage around.

Nodding, Candace started to fiddle around with her fingers as her eyes strayed around the room. Noticing the pictures on the nearby nightstand she stepped around Molly and examined them. Despite knowing that Molly presumably had an estranged relationship with her family Candace was still surprised to see that none of the photos appeared to contain any of them at all. Instead the photos that littered her nightstand consisted of personal photos, mainly of her and some other girl. It didn't appear to be a sister of any sort as the girl beside her in many of the pictures had long curly red hair as well as a completely different appearance from her. Her emerald green eyes seemed to light up every picture, even the small strip of black and white photos they appeared to have taken together in a photo booth.

"Oh, don't look at those." Molly said as she peeked over at Candace for a moment. "I never take good photos."

Candace shivered from fear and quickly spun around. "S-Sorry!" As she twirled the end of one of her ponytails bumped into one of the photos and knocked it onto the ground, causing her to gasp. "Ep! I'm s-sorry Molly!"

Molly giggled and refocused on the contents of her toolbox. "It's fine, I don't think its broken."

Quickly, Candace scrambled down onto the floor and retrieved the picture. Turning it over she found that it was indeed still in perfect condition. Using the edge of her sweater to dust it off she looked at it for a moment. It was another photo of Molly and that one red-haired girl. They stood side-by-side with Molly's arm wrapped around the girl's shoulder as her friend appeared to be taking the photo. Their cheeks were practically pushed up against each other's as they both eyeballed the other with some of the biggest smiles Candace had ever seen.

"Is… is t-this a friend of yours…?" Candace curiously asked as she looked up at Molly.

As Molly finally retrieved her pole and tackle box from the depths of the bin she looked back at her. "Huh? Oh, yeah. That's my friend Jessica from back home in the city. She's, uh, she's a, uh, a real good friend of mine, yeah."

Candace gazed back down at the picture. The photographed pair appeared to be so happy together. She could only wish that she had it in her heart to feel as happy as they appeared. Then maybe she could better understand what it was really like to have a friend.

"Hm… I haven't really talked to her in a while though…" Molly explained as she approached Candace as carefully took the picture from her, looking at it herself. "It was just a bit before I decided to come out here…"

Candace had taken to glancing out the window when Molly first removed the picture from her hands but now peeked back at her when she remained still. The young farmer continued to stare down at the photo as her aura appeared to grow distant. Her posture faintly withered.

"M-Molly…?" She said softly.

"Huh? Oh, right, yeah." She shook her head as she delicately set the photo back down in its place. "We should probably get going. The more sun we have the longer we can keep fishing."

She lead the way back to the front door before pausing in front of it.

"You didn't have anything else planned for today did you?" She asked as she turned back. "I wouldn't want to distract you by really getting into a lesson or something when you have somewhere else to be later on."

Candace shook her head. "No, I didn't have anything else p-planned for the day."

Molly started to smile again. "Really? Great! Looks like we might get to spend the whole day together then. Doesn't that sound fun?"

Candace shuddered as her cheeks started to slightly go red. Inside she could feel as her heart strangely decided to flare up again, dancing about her chest as she nodded in response. It was that warm, comforting feeling again. That warm feeling that like Shelly said she seemed to get whenever she ventured outside of the house. But it didn't seem to be the outdoors that created that feeling.

It seemed to be Molly.

* * *

 _A/N: I'd just like to give a special thanks to my two consistent reviewers Cotton Candy Mareep and Mewsea. You two are really making it easy for me to stay motivated with writing this :) Spring break is just around the corner which means I should be able to get the next chapter up fast than recent half month+ wait but we'll see._


	10. Summer Afternoons

Candace remained relatively quiet and stuck close to Molly while they hiked the short distance down the road to the bridge connecting to Flute Fields. Luckily for her Molly didn't make much of an attempt at conversation, only once asking if she was excited for their day out to which she nervously nodded her head in response to. If the slight tremble passing about her body was any indication it was obvious that she was still very much in disbelief that any of this was actually happening. She wasn't seriously about to possibly spend the day with someone was she? It had to be a dream, it had to be.

Her hands rested gently over her heart as though to ensure she didn't drop it with each short step they took along the path. She could feel it pounding against her chest like it was ready to just burst out and run home before something could tear it by force. All throughout their brief walk her eyes continued to bounce around the landscape in search of anything that would threaten to shatter that fragile layer of joy inside her but hardly anything appeared frightening.

For as much as her mind wanted to consider this a dream she was going to have to accept that it was real.

"Well, here seems as good as any other place." Molly declared as they stepped onto the first row of bricks that aligned the bridge over the river.

Candace emerged from her spot behind Molly and looked around. Cautiously, she walked over to the railing and peered down at the mild current below. "Are you s-sure? It seems a little h-high up."

"What's the matter Candace? Scared of heights?" Molly asked with a playful smirk.

Candace stepped back and hastily shook her head. "N-No!" She answered truthfully, now more so afraid that Molly seemed to assume anything could scare her.

"Hehe, I was just kidding." Molly laughed while setting her tackle box down atop the wall. "And here shouldn't be _too_ high. It really depends on how much line you got." She peeked over the edge herself. "Though, it'll be pretty hard to see the bobber from up here. That's not really good for starters so it probably wouldn't hurt to try somewhere else first."

"Oh... a-alright…" Candace muttered. Although Molly was trying to help her it hurt to have her skill questioned like that, even if it was true she was only a beginner.

"Come on, we can try down over near the waterwheel there." Molly pointed off at said spot as she snatched her case back up.

Again, Candace quietly took her spot besides her friend and followed along as she led her away.

"Yeah though, I've fished from plenty of spots high up like that bridge before." Molly began to tell her as they moved along. "Back in the city there was this pier down by at the beach that went out into the ocean that was pretty tall, at least when you're a kid." She started to smile. "I remember one time when I was young there was a contest there and I went with my dad to participate. I caught one of the biggest fishes you've ever seen! Well, maybe not that big since it only got third place but still! Ha, you should've seen it and the look on my dad's face." In an instant she started to freeze up as her tone became more melancholic. "My dad… my dad was really proud of me that day… He used to be I guess…"

"I… I-I bet it was a really impressive f-fish." Candace said quickly, knowing she needed to say something to try and get Molly's mind off the subject.

"Huh, wha-oh, yeah, right. Hm, yeah, you should've seen it, it was like half my size." After pausing she started to form a faint a smile as if to say thanks. "You ever catch anything like that?"

"N-No… I've never fished before…" She answered softly.

"OH! Right! I'm stupid, that's why I'm teaching you." Molly said as she gave herself a light smack on the head.

"Y-You're not stupid Molly!" Candace immediately replied.

"I know, I know." She tried to look away to hide the blush emerging on her face as she smiled once more. "It's just like a saying, that's all. Still… thanks. You're really sweet. Heh, I think I've already told you that today."

Candace started to nervously redden as well. "R-Really? Oh, w-well I don't really r-remember… N-Not that I wasn't paying attention t-to you! I… I was just…"

"Candace, relax." Molly spoke softly as she stopped and rested her hand on her shoulder, a smile across her face. "You don't have to be so nervous when we talk and stuff. I'm not going to get mad or anything at something you say. Er, at least again I mean, promise." Her hand fell back down to her side while her cheeks remained noticeably rosy. "I know it can be a little hard for people but still, I promise you don't have to be so worried about anything when you're around me. I like spending time with you... You're really nice."

"O-Oh, well o-okay, I… I can t-try… I-I mean…" Candace cut herself off and retracted into herself. Tugging away at her sleeve she couldn't decide if she found herself more anxious by Molly's unrelenting kindness or how she had yet again pointed out how easily frightened she was.

Molly giggled. "It's alright, don't sweat it. Now, come on then, we're basically there."

Whilst Molly spun on her heels and continued over to the riverbank just an arm's length away Candace stayed put for a moment, all bunched up. With her hands characteristically clutched over her heart she observed her friend and felt that it was their unnatural thoughtfulness towards her that had her all worked up. No one outside of her family had ever given her so much consideration, especially towards her feelings.

"T-Thank you…" She whispered. Her words were carried off by the summer breeze in the other direction as she then scurried back over to Molly's side.

"Here seems good right?" Molly asked as she heard Candace finally approach.

"I don't know... I-I mean I guess...? I wouldn't really wouldn't k-know..." Candace fumbled with her words as much as she did with her sleeve at the same time.

"Well, it looks perfect to me. Now, if there's no disagreements," Molly released the tackle box from her hand and let it fall firmly at her side before she herself plopped down next to it. "Let's get to it." She patted the grass at her side. "Come on."

With much hesitation Candace moved towards the indicated spot and sat quietly.

"Now sometimes you need to assemble your rod or something before you start but luckily the one Toby gave me is all ready to go." Molly began as she showcased it to Candace.

"Oh, Toby gave that t-to you?" Candace asked.

"Uh huh." Molly nodded. "He gave it to me when we first met as a little 'welcome to the neighborhood' gift. I told him it wasn't really necessary but apparently he's got a whole collection of fishing equipment back at his house. Hehe, I guess he really loves fishing huh? "

Candace's head sank and she looked out to the water. Even if Toby was now the only person who she's heard of giving Molly a gift like that for moving in she felt guilty about not doing the same, especially with everything Molly's done for her.

"But yeah, once you have your rod out and ready it's pretty straightforward from there." She continued. "It's just a matter casting out _just_ right an-" Molly was about halfway through the motion of flinging her line out when she jerked herself back to a complete stop. "Oh! I almost forgot!"

Candace quietly observed as Molly rested the bottom of the rod's handle at her side while she poked around the tackle box.

"Ah, here we are!" She announced while producing a small white container. Setting the rod down beside herself she popped the lid off and dipped her fingers in to remove one of the wriggling dirt covered worms it held. "Almost forgot the bait."

To her visible surprise Candace's expression remained as blank as ever.

"Heh, I'm surprised you're not grossed out or anything." Molly said as she began preparing the worm upon the hook.

"I… I'm not af-fraid of everything Molly…" Candace muttered softly, obeying her minds demand that she assert herself in some way as she warped her arms around her body.

"Oh no! I didn't mean it like that!" She started to clarify. "It's just that, you know, a lot of girls tend to not like bugs or worms you know? My sister hated these things."

Candace stated to sink back even further, now feeling as though her 'outburst' was uncalled for. "O-Oh… I see… W-Well, I've had to deal with silkworms before f-for some of the knitting I've d-done… so I don't think they're that w-weird…"

"Really? That sounds super cool. You'll have to show me sometime or something." Molly said with a smile that quickly faded as she turned back to the water. After a moment she rested the rod down in her lap and sighed. "I should probably tone it down a notch with the teasing and stuff shouldn't I…?"

"H-Huh…?" Candace asked.

"Well… like just now you know? When I said I was surprised you weren't scared? I… I feel like I do that a lot to you and each time you seem to get really upset." She explained. "I mean I never actually mean any of those things when I say them it's just… I don't know… That's just how I usually talk to people and well… it doesn't seem like you like it." She turned to her friend and looked at her with the same apologetic gaze she had on the previous morning. "You know I'd never want to hurt your feelings like that… not after last time. If you want me to stop I'll stop."

She hugged her legs and sighed. "I-I don't mean to get ups-set every time Molly… I… I guess it's just… I…" She paused. Her heart was crying for her to just come clean and admit that her constant state of distress was the result of having never socialized with anyone before but sure enough her mind convinced her it'd only make her more pathetic. "I… I g-guess I can try t-to be… less sensitive…"

"But I don't want you to change Candace… I… I like you…" Molly's eyes suddenly went wide. "A-As you already are that is! …You know? You shouldn't have to change anything about yourself for me. You're fine as is."

Candace's pale cheeks began to once again redden. Never before had she been told that she was actually liked, at least out of her family. It especially came as a surprise to her since it was in regards to her personality, which she had always seen as her biggest weakness, at least next to her perceived lack of good looks. With Molly having been the first person to ever call her their friend, though, deep down it didn't feel too unexpected that she would be the one to say such a thing as well.

"T-Thanks…" She quietly uttered under her breath while attempting to hide how flustered she now was by looking away.

Molly smiled and looked off in the other direction as well, appearing just as nervous. "I mean it Candace…"

The two continued to keep their view off one another for what felt like a good minute before both slowly turning back to each other at the same time. Candace appeared as though she was ready to turn back away from fright when she saw Molly's gaze upon her but the farmer's trademark smile managed to keep her relaxed.

"So… where were we then?" Molly wondered aloud as while bouncing the fishing rod around in her lap. "Oh! Right, bait. Well, once you got your bait or lure all set up you're pretty much set to go." She held the rod back and flung the line out into the river. "Then all you have left is casting your line out to where you're fishing and you're good to go."

Candace's eyes followed the bobber near the end of the line as it flew through the air and onto the surface of the water, watching it intently. "Seems easy I guess…"

"Good." Beamed Molly as she reeled the line back in. She then presented the rod to Candace. "Wanna give it a try then?"

"W-What? Oh, no… I… I don't know if I'm r-ready yet." She answered nervously. It felt just like any time Luna would ask her to knit, only now it was worse because she would have to be doing something she had no experience with in front of someone.

"Come on, you said it yourself that it seemed easy. Besides, it's just one quick flick of the wrist." Molly demonstrated the motion once again as she spoke. "That's all there is to it." She held the rod back out for her. "So what do you say?"

Candace's hands were visibly trembling as she reached out for the rod and took it from Molly's grasp. "Alr-right… I'll try…"

Her grip tightened around the base of the pole as she could feel her hands already becoming drenched in sweat from anxiety. Taking a deep breath she raised the rod up and only just began to swing it backwards when Molly shouted at her.

"Woah, woah, woah! I almost forgot!" She abruptly exclaimed.

Caught off guard, Candace nearly jumped from fright and let go of the rod mid-swing. It took a moment for her brain to register what she had done and when it hit her she made a desperate scramble to try and retrieve the rod only to end up juggling about in her hands before it finally fell between her and Molly.

"M-Molly! I'm so sorry!" She cried while putting her hands on her head, bracing herself for some sort of scolding.

"It's alright Candace." Molly gently assured her as she carefully picked up the pole and reeled in the line a tad. "It was my fault, I shouldn't have surprised you like that, but I forgot to tell you the most important part. You have to be very careful with those hooks when your casting, they really hurt if you manage to accidentally get someone with them."

Slowly her hands drifted back down to her sides as she looked at Molly. Her breathing was still sporadic as her eyes drifted down to the rod that Molly gestured to.

"You wanna give it another try?" She asked.

"I… I don't know…" Candace muttered as she huddled up. "I might screw up ag-gain…"

"That was my fault Candace, you did nothing wrong." Molly replied gently. "I promise I won't surprise you like that again."

Cautiously, Candace slowly reached back out for the rod and retrieved it, her hands still quivering from fear.

"Remember, it's just a simple flick of the wrist." Molly reminded her. "Take your time though. If you want to just take a deep breath or something. There's no pressure."

Candace's eyes slowly drifted shut as she listened to her friend's advice and began to slowly regain control of her breathing. The sound of the peaceful stream before her flowing out to the sea filled her ears to become the only thing she could hear at the moment. With another deep breath her eyes reopened and without uttering a single word she pulled the rod back and in one swift motion cast it out into the water. Her view stayed locked on the sight of the red and yellow bobber as it flew out before her and landed out right in the center of the stream.

"Yeah! Way to go Candace!" Molly cheered with applause.

Candace remained fixated on the bobber now slowly drifting along the current. "W-What do I do now..?"

"Well now it's basically a waiting game." Explained Molly. "You have to be patient and wait for a fish to start nibbling on the hook. That's why you gotta watch the bobber out there because once it starts bouncing up and down under the water that means you've caught something

"Oh... okay t-then..." Candace replied while shuffling around to get more comfortable.

"I know what you're thinking, it probably sounds a little boring but it's actually pretty relaxing." Molly told her. She scooted herself back a tad and spread herself out on the grass, resting her hands behind her head to cushion it. "So now you can just get cozy and take it easy for a bit. Fish don't always bite as soon as you manage to cast out and like to take their sweet little time with finding your lure so it could be awhile before anything even starts biting."

Candace nodded and looked back out at the line as it continued to drift further and further down the river.

"It's getting kind of f-far Molly…" She pointed out.

Molly sat up a smidge to gauge the distance of the bobber herself. "Eh, you should be fine." She assured her as she lied back down in the grass. "It's only going to wander out as far as the line will let it and mine isn't too long."

Coincidentally as Candace turned from Molly back out towards the bobber she saw that it had stopped sailing across the water, having traveled as far as it could. "Oh, I see…"

The area fell silent except for the sounds of nature as Candace kept her watchful eyes on the sight of the bobber out in the water. With each quiet second that passed she could feel herself growing more and more anxious as her mind began its twisted pastime of attempting to convince her she was doing something wrong. She tried to counteract it through deep breaths but was certain that her constant trembling was noticeable to Molly.

Eventually a peaceful sigh came from the resting farmer.

"It's just such a nice day out." She said calmly.

Candace's eyes wandered up to the clear sky above before immediately coming back down to the bobber, too afraid to let it go unsupervised for more than a moment. "Y-Yeah…"

Molly began to scoot herself back up. "You know I've spent just about every day working since I got here I've hardly had any time to really sit back and relax like this. Most days I don't have any work I usually just sit around at home and do nothing…" She brought her legs up to her chest and hugged them, stopping for a moment. "I'm really glad you decided to come over Candace…"

Such a statement managed to draw Candace's attention away from the bobber for longer than a second.

"When I said I would teach you how to fish yesterday at breakfast I didn't really mean anything by it… I was just trying to make conversation really. But, now that we're out here I actually really like it, even if we're not doing much yet… I guess I just like the time we've been spending together." Molly's view stayed off in the other direction, hiding her blush from Candace.

Once more Candace's heart began to beg for her to tell Molly about the matter of their relationship. If Molly had no problem talking about her feelings concerning their relationship why should she?

"M-Molly… I… I have somet-thing I want to t-tell… you…" She started as jittery as ever.

"What is it…?" Molly asked as she turned back to her, giving her undivided attention.

Candace took a big gulp. "W-Well… well it's… it's… just t-that…"

Suddenly something began to tug on the end of her line, hard enough to visibly bend the tip of the rod.

"OH! It looks like something's biting!" Molly exclaimed.

Absolutely clueless as to what she was supposed to do Candace started to wildly swing the pole around in all directions as the pulling on the other end got stronger.

"W-What am I supposed to do?" She shouted frantically.

"Calm down Candace! You have to reel it in!" Molly explained.

Candace tried to take her friend's advice and relax but the fish on the other end showed no sign of doing the same, prompting her to keep up the fight. "H-How?"

"You have to stop tugging so hard first! If you keep that up you're going to snap th-"

And just like that the high pitched sound of the line snapping just below the bobber came.

In an instant Candace fell backward but still managed to keep her grip on the rod.

"Candace! Are you okay?" Molly exclaimed as she crawled over to her.

As Candace rose up she hoped that Molly couldn't feel the tidal wave of failure that was emanating off of her.

"Molly… I… I'm s-sorry…" She uttered in regards to the broken line.

"The line is fine Candace, I want to know if you're okay. You kind of flew right there." Molly couldn't seem to help but end with a slight giggle.

"Y-Yeah… I'm fine…" Candace answered quietly. Her guilt wasn't going to fade anytime soon now it seemed.

"Good to hear." Molly smiled. Her view fell down upon the rod. "Looks like that fish managed to get away with my hook though." Candace began to noticeably frown as Molly reached for her tackle box. "Luckily a good fisherwoman is always prepared." After producing a spare hook from the container she gestured for the rod. "Let me see the fishing pole for a sec."

Candace handed it over without as much as a second thought.

"Thanks, I'll have this thing fixed up in a sec." Molly told her. After looking at both the end of the line and the hook her view went back Candace. "Heh, looks like you worked up a bit of a sweat with all that crazy tugging."

A shudder ran through Candace body as the sensation of sweat beading down her forehead and arms beneath her thick sweater became apparent. She could hardly remember the last time she spent enough time outside for the heat to even start affecting her. Perhaps it was her lack of exposure to the outside elements that lead to her wearing such heavy unseasonal clothing all the time.

"I guess it is kind of hot out today…" She said quietly replied, her guilt switching out with embarrassment.

"Just take your sweater off, I'm sure you'll be fine." Molly suggested while still attempting to fiddle around with the hook. "I can't imagine it's helping in this weather."

Carefully Candace brought her hands up to the knot that kept her sweater up and stopped. If there was ever a reason she preferred to keep much of herself clothed it was to conceal her unappealing pale and skinny figure. Looking as frail as she was mentally she thought it was no wonder no one in the area seemed attracted to her.

Yet with the sun continuing to pound down upon her it seemed that her choices were to either simply head back home to where it was cooler, ignore her fading self-esteem and shed or outer layer, or risk suffering from heatstroke.

Acting as if the circumstances were _far_ different, she shut her eyes tightly and felt her body tremble as her hands slowly placed themselves upon the knot and slowly began to untie it. Once the two strings came undone she paused for another moment before sliding her arms out of its sleeves one by one to reveal the cyan colored short sleeve blouse she wore underneath. As her outer layer slid down her back and onto the ground she wrapped her arms tightly around herself. She felt much cooler but naked as well. Glancing down at her porcelain skin the light from the sun was practically causing it to glow.

With Molly still struggling with attempting to tie the new hook on the line Candace took the opportunity to shake her head a tad in an effort to rearrange her hair in a way that would conceal most of her body, transforming her into a small blue bush of sorts.

"Argh. This is always the hard part." Molly muttered to herself aloud. "That hole is just way too small…"

Candace watched her friend's futile effort to even thread the hook for a moment.

"H-Here…" She said quietly as she reached out for the equipment. "L-Let me try…"

Molly fell quiet and allowed Candace to take both the line and hook from her grasp. Just like Luna the previous afternoon, she watched in silence as Candace delicately applied her sewing skills into tying the new hook onto the line.

"T-This is what you were trying to d-do right…?" She timidly asked while holding the newly attached hook up for her to see.

"Wow! You made it look so easy!" Molly praised as Candace released the line and let it sway back out in front of her.

"I mean it was kind of like sewing…" She replied quietly. "I've h-had to start a lot of projects that way… W-With needles and stuff I mean…!"

"Well I assumed that part." Molly laughed as she admired her friend's handiwork. "Thanks though, knowing me it would've taken ages to get that thing on there."

Candace diverted her focus elsewhere as usual, unwilling to accept credit for her accomplishment.

Meanwhile Molly continued to let the hook dangle out over the water.

"So, Candace… what was it that you wanted to tell me before we got a little sidetracked…?" She asked, appearing visibly nervous as she did so.

Candace's heartrate went from a crawl to a full blown sprint as soon as that question managed to just graze her ears.

"O-Oh… what… w-what I wanted to t-tell you…?" Her stuttering was at the same level as when she had first attempted to pour her heart out. "W-Well…" She scrunched up and tried once again to conceal herself beneath her fountain of hair. "Well what I w-wanted to tell you was…"

"Candace and Molly? Is that you two?" They heard a voice call from behind.

If Candace's flinch had been any greater she may as well have leapt in the water. Quickly, she turned with Molly to spot as Renee casually approached the pair, her own fishing gear in hand.

"Hey, it is you guys." She happily smiled.

"Renee! What's up?" Molly waved as Candace resorted to turning back away from her; her poor heart was practically uncontrollable now.

"Nothing really, I was just heading off to the beach to get some fishing in before the tournament tomorrow when I spotted you two over here and thought I'd say hi." Renee answered. "Is that what you two are up to?"

"Well not exactly." Molly giggled. "I'm actually teaching Candace how to fish."

"Oh really?" Renee sat herself beside Molly as she asked. "That's sweet of you. How's that going?"

"I'd say it's going pretty alright. Candace actually almost managed to catch a fish just a bit ago but it managed to make off with one of my hooks." She replied.

With a shudder passing through her body Candace immediately turned to Molly. From what she had just described it sounded as though she had been in more control of the situation that she actually was. Was it right for her to lie about her like that?

"Wow! Sounds like you're a fast learner there Candace." Renee noted. "Would either of you two mind if I join you?"

Molly shook her head. "I don't see why not. What about you Candace?"

Candace peered out from beneath the shade of her hair and looked back and forth between the two. "S-sure…"

"Thanks!" Renee said as she started to assemble her equipment. "So what's got you interested in learning how to fish Candace? Is it because of the contest tomorrow?"

She immediately started to shake her head in response. "N-No! M-Molly wanted to teach me! Besides… I… I doubt I'd be g-good enough to compete anyw-way…"

"Aw, now why would you think that Candace?" Molly asked.

"Yeah, the fishing contest has always been about having fun, nobody really cares who wins or loses." Added Renee.

Candace only managed to retract into herself once more.

"I think you'd do fine tomorrow if you decided to compete." Molly told her. "Besides, like Renee says, it's all for fun right?"

Slowly, she started to peek back out.

"D-Do you mean it…?" She asked.

Molly smiled. "Of course."

"You have nothing to worry about Candace." Renee said as she cast her line out. "Taylor always tries to compete each year and I don't think he's ever actually held a fishing rod before outside of it. Well, I guess except for that one time I hear him and Luke tried to use a pair as swords to fight… but I think that doesn't really count."

"I don't know… maybe…" Candace muttered.

"Well the choice is always yours Candace. If you don't want to participate tomorrow that's alright." Renee suddenly gained a mischievous but playful smirk. "But don't think that just because we're friends I won't give it my all if you do."

As Molly giggled at Renee's lighthearted jab Candace nearly leapt from her spot for what felt like the hundred time today, caught completely off guard by Renee's referral to her as a friend.

"Hehe, I'm only kidding Candace." Renee clarified in response to her reaction, just before winking. "Or am I?"

Molly continued to laugh as Candace sat there in shock. Did Renee really think of her as a friend as well?

"Ha ha, keep that up and maybe I'll have to join in on the fun tomorrow." Molly replied.

"Oh I hope you do! I'd love it if more people entered. It feels like me and Toby are the only ones who actually ever enjoy it." Renee said.

"Well he certainly loves to fish like you doesn't he?" Molly asked.

"Yeah, I'm surprised he's not out here actually. He loves to fish over here by the river on days like this." Renee answered, sounding a tad disappointed.

"It's still pretty early in the day, who knows, maybe he'll end up stopping by over here later." Molly said.

"Yeah, I guess you're right about that. Maybe he will." Renee chirped back. "I just hope that the weather won't start getting too cold soon…" A wild blush began to break out on her face as her head lowered. "I, heh, I was kind of hoping now that the ocean around here has calmed down that maybe the two of us could get a little boat or something and do some fishing out there."

Molly began to grin. "Hhmm, and now why would that be?"

"Oh, you know, just for the fun of it." Renee winked, seeming to indicate she was well aware Molly knew of her real intentions. "A girl can dream though."

Molly started giggling. "So is that what you'd wish for if you could?"

She paused and thought for a moment. "Well, I mean that would make for a good afternoon… but, no, probably not. What I'd wish for is probably well…" She playfully winked again. "Well that's a secret."

"Fair, fair." Molly laughed. She then turned to Candace who was again resorting to hiding beneath the shade of her hair, feeling it was an appropriate reaction to being neglected by those who referred to her as their friend. "What about you Candace? You have any dreams or wishes?"

Candace slowly turned to her, her glum expression cast in shadow. More often than not she had always simply wished that she could just be left alone, unable to bother or disappoint anyone, but she couldn't admit to that. Molly would never allow such a thing.

She instead shook her head slowly and gazed back out at the river. "N-No… not really…"

Molly's lip curled downward in a frown. "Aw, I'm sure there's something you want. But, if you want to keep it a secret like Renee that's always fine."

Candace looked back at her with a flimsy smile. At least she wasn't trying to pressure her.

"And what'd be you're wish Molly?" Renee asked as she spared her a glance.

Much like her, Molly's cheek gained a light shade of red. "Oh… well, you know…" Her eyes wandered back over towards Candace as she gave a giggle. "It's a secret…"

* * *

The fish that got away seemed to be the only one that was out in the river that afternoon and as the day went on it was clear it wasn't going to be fooled again. Unwilling to let herself cause another near accident, Candace refused to even touch the rod again and instead sat silently beside Molly as her and Renee let their lines drift along the current while they all basked in the sun's light. Though she maintained her usual attitude of only speaking when addressed she slowly started to feel what it was like to have friends. While the pair did largely chitchat amongst themselves, Molly and Renee both made periodic attempts to ensure that Candace's opinions on the topic were heard. Neither of them made any effort to try and make her feel uncomfortable either and slowly she could feel as her heart began to ease up.

Perhaps everyone else in the valley, much like Renee, didn't hold that crazy antagonistic view towards her like she had believed for almost her whole life. Even now as the pair actually spent time together, albeit with Molly in-between, it was becoming increasingly clear that Renee harbored no real hostility towards her. In fact she seemed to enjoy her company as much as Molly.

The girls didn't decide to call it a day until the sky above started to shift from a clear blue to bright orange, having managed to sustain themselves with the abundance of snacks Molly kept ready within her rucksack. After waving goodbye to Renee as she head back to her home, Molly and Candace made their way back over the bridge and back towards Molly's farm.

"I really enjoyed today." Molly said as the two crossed the river. "Did you have fun?"

Candace smiled but tried to conceal how happy she actually was feeling, still having yet to convince herself it was something to display so openly. "Y-Yeah, I guess I did."

"I'm really glad." Molly smiled back. "It was a nice way to end the season. Well, aside from the big festival tomorrow I guess. I'm sure it's going to be great."

Candace turned away. While she was certain she had no choice in showing up along with everyone else and didn't have as big an issue with it as earlier she couldn't shake the feeling she was only going to embarrass herself somehow. "Y-Yeah… it should be really fun…"

Molly flashed her another smile before continuing onward. Once they reached the branch in the path splitting off towards either her house or town she stopped and faced her again.

"So… if you don't mind me asking… what was it that you wanted to tell me earlier…?" She asked, a hint of nervousness in her voice.

Candace appeared puzzled. "W-What…?"

"Before that fishing swam off with my hook and then right before Renee showed up. You… wanted to tell me something." She clarified. "Do you remember...? It sounded important."

Her whole body shook as her eyes went wide. She had completely forgotten about her attempt to admit the sad truth about their friendship to Molly. With how friendly Renee had acted towards her all afternoon there was no way she could say such a thing now and have Molly believe it. It'd just sound pathetic, as usual.

"O-Oh, t-that… that… it was n-nothing…" She said quietly as her head sank. "N-nothing…"

"You sure…?" Molly asked. "If you want to tell me something I'll listen."

She shook her head. "I-I guess I'll see you tomorrow…"

As Candace turned Molly spoke again, spinning her right back around.

"Wait, before you forget." Molly dug into her backpack and retrieved Candace's sweater that she'd offered to hold onto for the day. "I'm sure you'll want this."

Candace took it from her hands and offered a slight smile. "T-Thanks…"

As she bunched it up into her chest and again turned around to make her way home Molly stood in place for a moment before again calling out to her.

"H-Hey Candace, wait." She asked.

Candace stopped in her tracks a few feet away and turned back to her, silent.

"H-Hey… do… d-do you think that maybe… I… I don't know… maybe… we could… go to the festival tomorrow… together?" She asked, unable to hear her own words over the deafening pounding of her heart.

"T-The festival…?" She asked. "I don't know… I mean everyb-body goes there… I'm gonna see you t-there anyway…"

Molly's face turned about as red as a tomato at that point as she started nervously rubbing the back of her head. "O-Oh! Yeah! R-Right! That makes sense, yeah!" She started walking backwards towards her house. "Totally, I get you. I guess I'll just see you there tomorrow then, yeah."

As Molly turned around and began to shake her head Candace could faintly hear her mutter what sound like, "Stupid Molly, stupid, that was stupid of you…"

Even still, as she watched her friend drag herself home she could feel her own heart burning as bright as ever. Something about her question had made her nervous again, but in the good way. Just the idea of spending time with her seemed to excite her very spirit.

Was this what it was like to feel happy?

* * *

 _A/N: Happy to see that some of you really seem to really like this story, I very much have enjoyed writing it. I've had a good chunk of the next chapter saved on my computer for almost two months now, originally as chapter 7... but then things changed and it all seems to have been for the better. The bad news to that is school starts back up in a few days so it might be back to almost a month's wait before I'll be able to get it put up so I hope you can patiently wait until then!_


	11. In the Lions Den

When Candace awoke the next morning it felt as though someone had twisted her stomach into the shape of a pretzel. Even just leaning back against the headrest of her bed made her filled with anxiety triggered nausea, knowing that with each slight movement only brought her closer to the impending festival. Placing her hand on her forehead she wiped away the trace amount of sweat that had already begun to form beneath the shadows of her bangs. Was she really this nervous for today?

Every festival had always begun with this same routine. Every time just like today she'd awaken to find her stomach tangled up in knots, far too queasy to even get out of bed until she'd relaxed herself. Yet somehow this morning it felt far different. Even with her perceived improving relationship with Castanet her mind remained shrouded in a cloud of discomfort. What if this growing confidence of hers would only serve to bring about her downfall? That the foolish belief that her neighbors and "friends" cared about her could lead to her dropping her guard and allowing the universe to do what it does best uninhibited, embarrassing her. The very thought threw her stomach into another loop as she clutched her hands over it tightly. Waiting for it to settle down she rested herself back against her bed's headboard once more and again wiped the sweat from her forehead.

Perhaps there was a chance that she was indeed just actually sick.

Sluggishly, she climbed out of bed and proceeded to carefully carry herself over to the door. As she slowly made her way into the kitchen she found Luna and Shelly seated at the table, cheerfully chatting amongst themselves.

"I'm sure they'll be finished getting all those last minute preparations out of the way soon. We should probably head out in a bit so we don't show up late." Shelly said to Luna while drink what was likely tea from her cup.

"I know but we should probably wait a bit, I mean Candace isn't even… Oh! Never mind actually!" Luna gave somewhat of a giggle as she noticed her sister reluctantly enter the room. "Looks like she is awake."

"Oh, good morning Candace." Shelly greeted with a smile as she turned to her. "Luna and I were just finishing up a bit of breakfast. I thought we'd all have a nice meal before heading out to the beach. Come, sit with us and eat."

Candace of course covered up her stomach, feeling too anxious to eat despite its low grumble in protest.

"N-No thanks…" She shook her head. "I d-don't really feel hungry this morning…"

"Oh? But we have some of your favorite jams here if you'd like." Shelly told her.

"Yeah, besides, Kathy tells me that all her dad's going to have out there is drinks so who knows when you'll get to eat again." Luna added.

Upon hearing such news Candace's stomach gave a might roar as if to plead with her to reconsider. Still, she keep her hands on it to muffle any further cries as she shook her head in disagreement once again.

"I… I-I don't know…" She answered with a deep breath. "My st-tomach doesn't feel too good this morning…"

"Oh? Is it just your stomach that's acting up? You aren't overheating as well at all are you?" Shelly asked, sound quite concerned.

Candace placed her hand back against her forehead and felt as it still remained damp but shook her head nonetheless. "No..."

"Well here, come, sit down." Shelly advised as she rose up and helped Candace into her seat. "Luna, be a dear and fetch your sister a cup of tea. I'm sure that'll help calm your stomach Candace."

She sank back into the chair in silence while her grandmother rested her hands upon her shoulders.

"Here you go sis." Luna said softly as she slid a filled teacup over to her. "This should help perk you up."

Candace gently lifted the small ceramic cup off the table and let its heavenly aroma overpower her nostrils.

"T-Thank you..." She uttered quietly before taking her first sip.

"Don't mention it." Luna smiled, carefully watching her.

With a sigh Candace rested the cup down into her lap and gazed down at the faint sight of her looking back up in the liquid's reflection. The brew hardly managed to clear the dark clouds looming about her mind but at least for the moment managed to calm her stomach down a tad in spite of its hungry protesting.

"You just sit back and relax." Shelly said while patting her shoulders before venturing off to the other side of the table. "Let the tea try to do its magic and see if it helps you feel better. If your stomach calms down then you can try and help yourself to some breakfast and hopefully it doesn't start acting up again."

Candace drew the cup closer to her chest and scrunched up. "W-What about you and Luna…? Are you two still going to g-go to the festival….?"

"What? Why of course." Shelly replied. "We'll just hang around here a tad longer and wait to see if you your stomach calms down. It's no rush."

"You don't have to wait f-for me…" Candace responded quietly. "I don't want to you two t-to miss out on any of the f-fun because of me…"

"Oh it's quite alright dear. Like I said we're in no hurry." Shelly glanced over at the small analogue clock sitting atop the kitchen wall. "The festivities have only just started. I doubt if we show up a little later we'll miss much."

Candace curled up even further in her seat. "P-Please… I'll be fine… Don't worry about me…"

Shelly gave a bit of a chuckle at her remark. "Now Candace, I'm your grandmother, I'm always going to be worrying about you. That goes for Luna too." She glanced over at her other granddaughter to see as she smirked and shook her head in response. "It simply comes with being a caring grandmother. Hmhm, perhaps someday you'll both get to know that pleasure."

Both girls gave a violent shudder. Candace did so at the fact that doing so would first require her to be a mother, and for that to happen she'd actually have to finally found someone who took in interest in her. Luna on the other hand shook for a different reason.

"Sheesh, I don't even want to think about being that old yet." She uttered. "The day I finally find a grey hair on my head… ugh. Er… no offense of course grandma..."

Shelly surprisingly giggled in response. "Well your aunt Lillia certainly has managed to keep up her appearance even at her age. Perhaps if you're lucky you'll end up the same way." She turned back to Candace. "But Candace, just know that you and your sister are always going to be on my mind, for better or worse. I've helped you two grow into fine young ladies and I'll continue to do my part to help you two with whatever trouble you may have.

Slowly, Candace brought the cup in her iron grip down into her lap once more. "T-Thank you…"

"Now then, I do suppose that means though that I should respect your wishes. If Luna and I were to leave for the beach are you sure you'd be fine here without us?" She asked. "You aren't feeling too bad you said? I just don't want to leave and have anything get worse while you're here by yourself."

Candace slowly nodded and glanced down at her tea. "Y-Yes… please, don't worry about me…" She looked back up at the pair. "I'll be f-fine… G-Go and have fun… I'll… I'll show up when I can…"

Shelly gave a half-smile. "Well, if you insist I suppose the two of us can head over without you for now." She turned back to Luna who bore a similar expression. "What do you think Luna?"

Luna remained quiet for a moment, examining her sister, before answering. "If you really think you'll be fine without us I guess we can go."

Candace nodded as she brought the cup closer to herself and lowered her head. "I'll be alright…"

"Well… I guess in that case we'll be off then." Shelly stated after taking a brief pause. "We'll be off down over by the beach with everyone else of course should you need anything. Though, I do wish there was an easy way for you to alert us if your stomach started getting any worse. I suppose I can come and check up on you just in case if you take too long but I don't think they'll be any need for that."

Candace looked up and gave a fragile smile as the two started to make their way over to the front door.

"I do hope your stomach will settle down soon." Shelly said as she turned from the now open doorway. "It's been so long since everyone's been able to get together like this and it'd simply be awful if you weren't going to be able to make it."

Candace sank back in her chair thanks to her grandmother's unintentional guilt tripping.

"Don't worry Candace. I'm sure like you're going to feel better any minute now. Trust me." Luna smiled with encouragement. "We all can't wait to see you out there."

The sound from the door closing behind them echoed off the now empty walls of the home before falling silent. Now alone Candace swirled the cup around in her lap and watched the liquid inside dance about before gently placing it atop the table. Any desire she had to use her anxiety filled stomach as an excuse to remain home for the day was now dashed by her family's continued insistence that she just _had_ to be there. How could she in good conscious stay home now after that? Even the typical thoughts that nobody actually cared about whether or not she showed up or not now entering her mind were hardly enough to counteract the disappointment that would come from disappointing her family.

With a typical sigh Candace held her head down and looked upon her lap, accepting the inevitably of having to step far out of her comfort zone once more. Even as her optimistic side tried to remind her of her supportive family and growing list of friends that awaited her out near the beach she failed to shake the feeling that she was about to make a huge mistake.

* * *

It couldn't have been no more than an hour later when she finally decided to leave the house and make her final approach to the festival grounds. From just a short walk away from the steps at the edge of town she spotted the sight of Luna standing with Kathy among her father's stand right at the beginning of the dock, much to her dismay. Almost instinctively she dropped her head down and shook her hair wildly about to try and conceal herself but without anything else to obstruct the very sight of her it was fair to say that her effort was pretty much in vain. Especially when considering the crazy idea that her own sister would fail to recognize her from such a close distance.

"Candace! You finally made it!" Her cotton candy haired sibling chirped with glee.

Candace slowly brought her eyes up as her feet dragged along the hard surface of the remaining stone road and onto the wooden pier.

"Grandma's been all concerned about you ever since we left." She casually told her. "I swear I had to stop her from leaving to check up on you like four times already."

Immediately Candace's head fell back down. "I'm s-sorry. .. I didn't mean to make either of you worry..."

"Oh it's alright Candace. You don't have anything to apologize for." Luna assured her. "You know how grandma can be. I knew you just needed some time to yourself to relax."

She spared her sister a glance before looking off at the calm waters of the sea. "T-Thanks…"

"How's your stomach by the way? It feeling any better?" Luna asked.

"O-Oh… yeah… it's a little better now…" She mumbled.

"You're stomach not feeling too good there Candace?" Kathy finally spoke. "Maybe a drink will help keep it calm it down, what do you say? First one's on the house."

Candace looked over at the wide assortment of colored liquids that adorned her station. "I d-don't know…" She hesitated, imagining the guilt she'd no doubt feel if she turned away her kindness. "I… I guess I'll t-take a drink…"

Kathy flashed a smile and slide back behind the counter, taking on the role of her father had he been present at the moment. "What'll it be?"

"Juice… Just Juice…" She replied quietly. "If you have any…"

"Heh, juice is all we got over here until the fireworks start later tonight." Kathy laughed as she handed Candace a beverage. "Have some orange juice, that always helps."

Candace silently took the glass from her and sipped from it.

"I see your ditching your sweater again for today." Luna said noting her sister's ensemble. "Trying out a new look?"

Candace peered down at her thin blouse before retracting into herself to try and conceal as much of her ghostly skin as possible. "I just didn't want to overh-heat like yesterday… That's all…"

"Can't say I blame you." Luna replied as she drew attention to her standard dress. "That's why I always like wearing dresses in the summer, helps you keep cool, and cute!" Quickly she turned to Kathy. "That reminds me! Like I was telling you before, I had an idea for an outfit you could pull off that I know you're going to love! So, what I was thinking was…"

Candace's mind slowly started to drown out her sister and Kathy's ensuing conversation since it seemed obvious, at least to her, that she wasn't going to be acknowledged again any time soon. It sounded like a selfish reason but experience had at least told her that it was hardly the wrong sort of assumption to make. Rather than continue to stand around silently and watch her theory become a self-fulfilling prophecy she instead turned around and resumed heading down the rest of the pier. Her eyes bounced about the crowd while her feet dragged along the wooden surface, spotting as those present had already gathered together into their own little groups. Off towards the beach she spotted Shelly chatting with Mira, Colleen, and Yolanda, about what she could only guess. A childish instinct then formed inside her and she felt the sudden urge to scurry over to her grandmother's side and simply hide there in her shadow.

That's what she would have done if she were about ten years younger at least.

Back when they were children Luna would waste no time upon arriving at a festival to run off and play with the other kids while Candace would just force herself upon Shelly. While her grandmother would chat with the other adults of the town, much like she was now, Candace would stand huddled close to her side with an iron grip around her hand. She'd hardly say anything when spoken to, preferring to just be ignored to avoid embarrassing herself, which became easier once she was old enough since she could simply just opt to stay home instead of venturing out. It came at the sacrifice of missing out on her best chances to break free from her shell, but to her the temporary peace of mind was worth it. Prior to Luna dragging her along to the annual moon viewing she could hardly remember the last time she actually attended a festival and now that she was being forced to attend one yet again she hadn't the slightest clue to what was expected of her.

As she drew closer into herself her eyes began to wander again, noting the specific absence of Molly in the area. She didn't seem to be present on either the pier or the beach oddly enough. A frightful thought then entered her mind. Molly's absence couldn't possibly be a result of the way she answered her question the previous afternoon could it? As her emotions quickly started to tank her eyes caught the sight of Renee standing at the edge of the shore along with Toby, Maya, Anissa and Luke. Renee was her friend now right? That meant that if she were to approach her she'd treat her just the same as Molly would didn't it?

Candace could feel her grip around her cup tighten as started to cautiously make her way over towards the group, her feet dragging along the ground as though they had suddenly gained a hundred pounds each. It felt just like back at the party all those weeks ago when she had seated herself amongst everyone only this time she lacked the buffer that Molly had provided. Back then she had a reason to approach them, here she felt like she was about to just force her awkward self on them.

Just a few short steps from behind everyone, Candace stopped and let them continue talking for a moment.

"H-H-Hi R-Renee…" She stammered out, unable to hear her own words over her jackhammer of a heart.

Renee spun around and her eyes appeared to light up when she realized it was poor, scrunched up Candace who had addressed her. "Candace, hey! It's nice to see you again."

Candace's eyes nervously darted around the group as everyone gave their own greeting.

"Y-Yeah…" She muttered, pulling her cup into her chest.

"Come, join us." Renee slid to the side to allow Candace some space in the circle as she giggled. "It's such a beautiful day for a festival, wouldn't you agree?"

"Y-Yeah…" She simply replied while situating herself into the open space. Her heart refused to even begin letting up.

"Candace, it's been awhile." Anissa smiled directly across from her. "I don't think I've seen you yet since I came back to town, how have you been these past few years?"

"O-Oh… you know… the same…" She answered quietly. It was probably the first time ever that she ended up vocalizing that antagonizing thought.

"Hm, still stitching up all sorts of wonderful designs then I take it?" Anissa then asked, interpreting her words in a more positive manner.

Candace shook her head. "W-Well kind of… I… I haven't really made anything in a while…"

Renee chimed in. "Oh, but didn't you make that cute little dress Molly had on at the one party at the bar a while ago? I really liked that one."

"Y-Yeah…. But… well… I made that a long time ag-go… I think…? I don't really remember…" Candace looked down and started to nervously fumble around with her cup.

"Oh don't be so modest Candace" Renee said as she gently patted her back, drawing the timid girl's attention to her. "Your designs are always so wonderful. You know, now that my family's farm is doing better maybe I can find some time to stop by and pick myself up my own little cute outfit that you made."

Renee's words, though similar to something Molly would've likely told her, only managed to trigger a slight tingle from within her heart.

"Yeah, I'm sure Renee's right." Luke agreed. "Say, you guys don't sell bandanas do you? I don't think I ever got an answer last time I asked, ha ha ha!"

"O-Oh I'm sorry!" Candace gasped, dismayed by her apparent rudeness. "O-Of course we do. We make all s-sorts of accessories."

"Hey, don't sweat it, it's cool." He assured her. "Looks like I might be stopping in too. I could always use a new bandana for the fall."

"Speaking of your place how's Luna been doing since we got back?" Anissa asked. "I don't know if she told you but I actually ran into her back in the city a few days before we decided to come back."

"Oh yeah, she mentioned it… s-sounds like it was really nice…" She answered.

"I just loved those little cafes scattered around the city." Anissa longingly sighed. Her view strayed over to Maya. "Though, I gotta say they still don't compare to the stuff you guys serve over at the inn if I remember correctly."

The chipper cook in training gave a slight blush as she came down with a slight case of the giggles. "Hehe, you _have_ to be talking about my grandma's cooking then. But, if you think what she can make is good then you should try some of the stuff I've been learning to cook. I've been practicing, like, every single day it seems. You won't be disappointed."

"Hm, maybe you could try cooking up one of the fish someone catches for the contest later today." Renee cheerfully suggested.

"Aw man that'd be great! Now I definitely gotta catch the biggest fish today! You better get ready Maya." Luke enthusiastically boasted.

Everyone in the circle burst out into laughter. Everyone except for Candace that is, who simply continued to scrunch up, still far too afraid to let out a single peep at the fear of somehow coming off as offensive.

"Sounds like you're very excited for this afternoon." Toby said as the laughter died down.

"You know it!" Luke replied. "I've been practicing all week since Hamilton decided to have the festival again. I am so ready!"

Renee giggled again and looked over to Candace at her side. "You were practicing learning how to fish yesterday too weren't you Candace?"

Candace nearly shuddered enough to drop the glass from her hands. "W-What? N-N-w-well I guess… b-but I mean I r-really wasn't that good at it."

"That's alright. No one's really good at anything when they first begin." Toby assured her.

"Yeah, there's nothing wrong with a rough start." Luke began before laughing. "You should've seen when Dale first took me under his wing. He was, like, totally afraid to give me an axe and let me go off on my own for so long!"

"Practice does make perfect. That's what experience's taught me." Maya added.

Candace awkwardly smiled in response to everyone's kindness towards her, but still felt uneasy.

"Hm, I bet if you really put your heart into it like Luna says you do with your knitting you'd be a pro in no time." Anissa told her. "Heck, you'd probably be able to be a pro at anything with how dedicated she said you can be."

She shook again. "L… Luna said w-what about…"

"Attention everyone! Attention!" Hamilton then called out from atop the podium back on the dock. "Just a reminder that I'll now be taking anyone's registration for the fishing contest! It's set to begin in just three hours so if you feel like signing up just stop on by the table here and we'll get you sorted! Whether you participate or not please do enjoy the festival! It's such a lovely day for a celebration of life returning to our once gloomy home!"

"Oh! Looks like it's time to get registered! You ready?" Renee asked as she turned to Toby.

He nodded. "Of course, this is my fav-"

"Alright! Hey, race you guys there!" Luke shouted before sprinting right between the pair and towards the dock.

The two watched him run down the remainder of the beach before looking back at one another, shaking their heads in laughter as they then followed behind.

"Boy, they sure seem excited." Maya giggled.

"I'd be surprised if they weren't." Anissa responded before surveying the dock. "I suppose I should probably go and find Taylor and make sure he doesn't get close to causing any trouble with Chloe again like last time. Goddess knows I can't count on my father to do that."

Maya waved her off. "Guess I'll see you around then. Good luck!" She then turned to Candace who was still hunched over and looking out into the distance. "Looks like it's just you and me then now."

Candace slowly turned back to her and finally took note that everyone else had abandoned her. Though they all had their own legitimate reasons for leaving she could still hear that tiny voice in her head trying to convince her that they were simply excuses to get away from her. "Y-Yeah…"

"So how have you been Candace?" She asked. "I don't think we've really hung out since that one day you and Molly came over for lunch."

Candace's thoughts naturally shifted back to that afternoon. Though she was hardly at ease back then at the inn she had been far more relaxed there than right here on the beach with everyone. Was she just not able to handle being a part of a big group yet?

"I… I've been fine… I-I guess…" She responded quietly.

Maya offered her a gentle smile.

"W-What about you?" Candace then hastily asked, realizing how rude it'd be not to.

"Eh, about the same I guess. Nothing really too exciting has been going on so I've just been able to take it easy for the most part." She answered. "You know, you and Molly should stop by again sometime, it was fun last time you two came over. We could have like a little girls' night or something."

Candace could feel as her heart suddenly started to furiously beat upon her chest again. "W-Well I d-don't know… m-maybe…? I mean… if-f you really w-wanted to we could…"

"Well it's just an idea." Maya clarified with a laugh. "Just something that could be fun you know?"

Naturally, misinterpreting Maya's suggested only caused Candace to withdraw further into herself.

Why was Maya suddenly being so nice to her now? Had she always been this way? She was only left to wonder.

"I really like your blouse by the way." Maya continued. "You look cute in it."

The poor girl's heart only accelerated faster as her cheeks reddened. "T-Thanks… I… I think…" She eventually muttered.

"Don't mention it." Maya laughed, far too cheery to truly acknowledge Candace's reluctance to accept her compliment. "Huh?" She focused her sights off in the distance towards the edge of the pier. "Oh! I think my grandma's calling for me."

Candace slowly turned around to see as Yolanda waved and gestured for her granddaughter to come over to her.

"I better go see what she wants. It was nice chatting with you though! Hope we can see each other later or something." Maya said as she started to make her way off the sandy shore. A short way down she turned back around for a moment and continued to speak as she walked. "And tell Molly what I told you if you see her later! I really would love if we could get together again or something!"

Candace's hand showed no sign of stopping shaking as she slowly lifted it up to wave goodbye. "A-Alright… bye…"

Once Maya turned back around she brought her hand down to her cup and sighed, thinking about the compliment she'd just received. Barring instances from her family and other adults at gatherings when she was little she'd never really been complimented in such a way before and now that she was it was coming from a girl? With how naturally Maya spoke it sounded like it wasn't exactly an odd thing to say but was it really that normal for someone to just go around and compliment someone in that manner? She'd only really ever thought about commenting on someone's looks in the context of being interested in them but surely that didn't mean Maya liked her that way did it? She was another girl, that'd be weird… wouldn't it?

She couldn't help but sigh again, now at how worked up she was making herself over a few little words. There was hardly a doubt in her mind that anyone else wouldn't get so troubled by such a simple thing. Gradually, her head lifted and she looked around the beach area, finding herself alone now that everyone from the group had headed over to the dock for one reason or another. She was about to lower her head in anguish when they suddenly caught a glimpse of Molly up on the elevated portion of the beach, wearing the same pink dress she had on at the party so many nights ago.

"M-Molly!" She blurted out, uncertain herself if it was in surprise or an attempt to get her attention.

For as faint as it sounded to her it seemed to be loud enough to reach Molly. The younger farmer gave a slight jump from surprise at hearing her name and looked about the area until she spotted the lone blue spot on the beach.

"Oh, Candace!" She noted.

Without much delay, Molly started to make her way over towards Candace as she stood frozen in place. She tried her best to try and calm herself down, finding it somewhat easier than before.

"Hey there Candace, I was actually just looking for you." Molly greeted with a smile once she stood before her.

"O-Oh, okay." Candace replied back. "W-What were you looking for me f-for?"

"Well it's just…" She paused, taking a moment to think over her next few words. "I, er, I kind of want to apologize…"

"Apologize…?" Candace asked. "For what…?"

Molly's face began to noticeably redden as she started awkwardly scratching her head. "Well… I kind of just want to apologize for maybe, well, going off and assuming that you're… or well just that I've kind of been thinking that you might also be… er… you know what, it's not that important. Forgot I said anything."

Candace stared blankly at her, in an obvious state of confusion.

"I'm just overthinking something, that's all." Molly tried to clarify. "…It's I was just thinking yesterday about something that I thought was this huge deal but now I'm pretty sure it doesn't matter, or at least it shouldn't when it comes to how I feel about you... Y-You know as friends! As friends! Heh, just… yeah, it's nothing, don't worry about it."

"O-Oh… Okay then…" Candace muttered as she looked off at the water, trying to figure exactly what Molly meant.

"It has nothing to do with me wondering if I want to be friends or not if that has you worried." Molly assured her. "I wouldn't dare to think about something like that."

Candace looked backed at her. "Really…?"

She nodded. "Of course. It's just… something kind of personal I guess…" She stopped for a moment and put on an uncomfortable smile. "Maybe… maybe sometime I'll tell you about it… maybe…" She paused again. "Hm, but yeah, me and you? We're friends, definitely. Heck, I'd say you're my best friend here."

Candace could feel as her heart kicked it back into 12th gear.

"Say, that reminds me." She started to do a bit of a spin to show off her ensemble. "Best friend opinion, real quick, how do I look in this? Good? Bad? _Cute_?"

Her face started to redden to extreme levels now.

"I know you might be biased since you made the dress but I just want a second opinion." Molly giggled.

It was such a simple question yet for Candace, like all things simple, it felt like the most stressful situation ever, especially given her thoughts just moments ago. She could just end it by simply saying it looked good on her and leave it but that seemed far too modest of an answer, especially for what was now supposedly her best friend.

"W-Well… what do you think…?" She quietly asked.

"Hm? I think it looks lovely, especially since you made it." She replied cheerfully.

That hardly managed to lessen Candace's blush. "O-Oh… w-well… w-well then I think… I think you look…" She could feel herself retracting into herself while she gulped in preparation for embarrassment. " _Cute_ …"

Molly started to giggle uncontrollably. "Really? Thanks. You really didn't have to say anything if you didn't want to though…"

The poor girl's heart felt like it was about to burst. What she'd have given to have known that just a few seconds ago.

"You okay?" Molly asked.

Candace rapidly shook her head side to side as her heart showed minimal signs of stopping. "Y-Yeah… I'm okay."

Molly gave her a typical warm smile. "Say, have you signed up for the fishing contest? I was about to go and sign up myself actually and thought, hey, maybe you'd like to join me."

"T-The c-contest?" Candace nervously stammered. "I… I don't know… do you r-really think I'm good enough…?"

"Oh Candace, I thought we told you yesterday that it's not really a contest, it's just about having fun."

Candace sank. "Y-Yeah… you're right… I… I guess I can s-sign up…"

From beneath the shadows of her bangs she glanced up to see Molly smiling back at her in reassurance.

"Come on, it'll be fun." Molly gestured for her to follow. "Trust me."

As Molly turned and started to head over to the desk back on the pier Candace let out a sigh before slowly dragging herself behind her. All the while her heart showed no signs of stopping, now kickstarted by the fear of contest she was now somewhat being forced into. She wanted to start learning how to really have fun and she wanted to show Molly that could be a good friend and be willing to spend time with her but it did nothing to break up her growing fear that doing so would be a huge mistake.

Mayor Hamilton stood waiting behind the table up on the dock, ready for any entrants for the contest.

"Molly and Candace, what a pleasant surprise! Are you two here to get signed in for the big fishing contest in a few hours?" He asked with a smile on his face.

Molly nodded for the pair. "Yup! We wouldn't dare wanna miss out on it."

"Good to hear you two!" He beamed. "Now, signing up is incredibly easy. Just jot your names down on the list and you're ready! All you'll need to do later is be ready at about three with your own gear and you'll be all set."

"Your own gear?" Molly asked just as she was about to write her own name down. "You don't provide any?"

"As much as I'd love to to ensure that everyone in town could have a chance to participate I'm afraid it isn't in our budget right now." He explained. "If you want to compete you'll need to have our own set of equipment."

"Hm, well I guess one of us will have to drop out." Molly sighed as she stepped away from the table.

Internally, Candace's was breathing a heavy sigh of relief.

"What do you say Candace, wanna borrow my stuff and give it a go?" Molly asked, giving her quite a jolt. "You can put all the practice from yesterday to use."

"W-What?" She nervously stammered. "I-I don't know… I… I don't t-think…" She stopped herself from again trying to claim she wasn't ready, knowing what Molly's response would be. "Do… do you r-really think so…?"

"Why not? Hey, if it helps you feel better we can go off and practice before the contest starts so that way you'll be super ready. What do you say?" She told her.

Candace closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"Alr-right…" She finally answered. "I'll… I'll do it…"

Molly's eyes practically lit up as she excitedly handed the pencil on the table off to Candace. "Alright!"

Candace carefully took the writing utensil from her and approached the signup sheet. Her heart pounded against her ribcage as though it wanted to run away as it watched her delicately write her name in the first empty space on the list. For whatever risks she thought lied ahead there'd be no turning back now.

* * *

 _A/N:_ _After about a month it's finally here! Thanks for your continued patience with this story and it's slow progress, it's probably gonna be another long wait till chapter 12. I hope you enjoy what I've got until then and leave a few words if you do and have the time._


	12. You Can Do It

The ocean water stretched out before the pair was quiet as Candace sat beside Molly off along the path that bridged the town to the farmlands. The tailor now turned fisherwoman's eyes stayed glued on the bobber floating peacefully atop the clear shimmering surface of the sea as her farmer friend continued to gently splash her bare feet around in the shallow waters. Off in the distance the faint sound of chatter from the beachfront on the other side of town could be heard all the way out in their isolated spot. Their incomprehensible words were all but drowned out to Candace though by either the sound of Molly's occasional humming or the furious pounding of her heart. Everything in their quiet little corner of Castanet appeared calm except her. Was the thought of actually going through with competing in the fishing contest getting her worked up that much?

For years people like Renee, Toby, Luke and the others had competed and had fun so what was the worst that could happen if she decided to join in for once?

Well, besides the fact that she was a complete amateur and had no idea what she was doing. She didn't even really know yet how to reel in a fish so what was she supposed to do if she caught one? Would she look like an idiot if she were to try asking for help? Or what if she did nothing and it broke the line again? Would anyone care about her enough to help? Or what if she tries swinging the pole around wildly again and hits someone? And what about those nasty hooks Molly warned her about? What if everyone but her managed to catch something? She'd be the laughing stock of the town. Or what if, or what if, or what if

Or what if

Or what if

OR WHAT IF?

As her mind fell heavily under siege from the sudden rush of negativity Candace gave a jolt and scrunched up tight. A faint whimper escaped past her lips and she felt as the anxiety that had been guiding he heart switched places with fear.

"Candace, are you alright?" She swore she heard a voice ask.

"But what if, but what if, but what if...?" Her mind hopelessly continued. Its tone down was almost evil as it ruthlessly taunted her.

"Candace...?"

She scrunched herself so tight it felt like she was going to collapse upon herself. Her eyes shut firmly as they began to grow red and puffy.

"Candace!"

The voice calling to her finally registered as Molly's as she felt her hand fall upon her back.

"H-H-huh...?" She stammered out, momentarily broken out of her trance. Frightened, she slowly turned to Molly and met the sight of her gentle gaze. Immediately she lowered her eyes back into the shadows of her bangs to conceal her imminent tears.

"Candace, what's wrong?" She calmly asked.

"I...I-I... it's nothing..." Candace answered in a mutter.

Instinctively Molly placed her free hand atop hers strangling the grip of the fishing pole just as she released it. Carefully, she set it off to the side before refocusing in Candace.

"Are you sure?" She questioned further. Cautiously she started to softly caress her upper back.

Candace's arms fell down to her sides and her head dropped as she allowed herself to accept Molly's gesture.

"I-I… I-I'm fine…" She whimpered. "P-Please… I… I'm f-fi…"

She cut herself off there, unable to allow herself to continue to choke on her own words.

Silently, Molly's hand continued to gently glide across Candace's back. As her body trembled Candace attempted to control her breathing through a series of deep breaths and once she managed to withhold herself from crying looked back at Molly. Her brown eyes stayed fixed on her own as her hand slid across her back and down to the space between them. An encouraging smile was on her face. Sighing Candace looked back out to the water, her hands rested firmly in her lap.

"S-Sorry..." She muttered meekly.

"Hey, you don't have to apologize for how your feeling." Molly told her while placing her hand back on her shoulder. "Now what is? Something on your mind?"

Candace sighed and slowly passed her a glance, noting how weak Molly's drastically calmer attitude made her feel. Had she been in her shoes she'd likely have believed that she was the cause of her friend's distress and struggled with how to leave yet Molly seemed set on sticking by her side, determined to help her overcome her gloom.

She was starting to realize that Molly was, in many ways, just like Luna. The perfect counterpart to her. They were both sociable, caring and happy people who had somehow found themselves tangled up in her mess of a life in some way. Yet, it was Molly's lack of a blood relation that gave her a sense of appreciation she'd never felt towards her sister or anyone else. The fact that someone who had once been a stranger could seemingly care about her well-being so much managed to make her heart all tingly in the strangest way. Even now as her view strayed back out to the vast sea stretched before her in what felt like shame she could sense that her cheeks were starting to gain a reddish tint. The act of simply attempting to sneak a peek at her smiling friend that moment caused her poor heart to skip a beat.

Was she really this upset about the scene she was making in front of her or was it something else?

"Sorry…" She eventually sighed quietly again.

"It's alright Candace." Molly assured her. "So… wanna talk about it…? Whatever's bothering you, that is? I'm here to listen if you'd like."

Candace lifted her head up and peered at Molly, her eye's just barely visible from the shadows of her hair. Again, she felt the particular warmth fill her heart.

"W-Well… Well I'm j-just… I'm j-just a little…" She turned away, unable to finish the thought.

Molly, for as misguided as it was, especially with how some of their interactions went, seemed to still hold this image that she was far more mentally and emotionally stable than she actually was. If she were to break that illusion by finally admitting how worked up she could become over the littlest things what could she do? Was she prepared to deal with someone like her if she decided to be honest about her life?

She shook her head. "No… it's nothing…"

Molly continued to stare at her, not entirely sure on what to do for a moment.

"This is about the fishing contest isn't it…?" She asked. Her tone sounded almost like she was ashamed of herself.

Candace took a deep breath and slowly turned back to her, the action practically providing her the answer.

Molly removed her feet from the water and wrapped her arms around her legs. Her head lowered as she looked out into the distance.

"You didn't have to sign up if you didn't want to…" She began in an apologetic way. "I… I didn't mean to pressure you into it if I did… I mean I wouldn't have been mad or anything if you said no or something. I just thought it sounded like a fun thing we could've done together and then when turned out only one of us could do it… I don't know… I guess I just thought maybe you might've actually liked to have given it a try." She sighed and looked away, hugging her legs tighter. "I feel like none of this is really helping…"

For as justifiable as it was for Molly to put the blame on herself Candace still managed to feel guilty. Had she been a stronger person none of this would've been bothering her and the two of them could've probably been chatting away back at the beach with everyone else. That wasn't the sort of reality they lived in however. Instead here they both were, too afraid that they had offended the other to even look at each other. She had to speak up for once.

"Don't… D-Don't worry Molly." She said quietly to bring her friends attention back to her. "I'll… I'll be alright…"

She closed her eyes and breathed deeply.

"I… I… I want to have fun…"

"Yeah?" Molly's eyes darted around. "If… if you want we could do something else though? You don't have to compete if you don't want to, I'm sure they'll understand."

To her surprise Candace shook her head.

"N-No… I'll… I'll do it…" She spoke softly and brought her hands up over her chest, now pounding from anxiety. "It's just… I-I've never done something like this before…" Though she was in truth referring to the fact that she'd never willingly been this social before, both in being so open with her feelings and participating in the town festivities, it was harmlessly vague enough that it sounded like it was just referring to the competition.

"Well, hey, everyone's gotta start somewhere. A friendly fishing contest is no big deal." Molly's tone sounded more like its usual chipper self as she released her legs back out into the water and dropped her arms at her side. "And don't you worry. When it's time for the competition I'll be right there with you."

Candace's face gained that faint sense of rouge as she nervously looked over at Molly. "R-Really?"

She nodded with a smirk. "You bet! I'll be your own personal cheerleader." An enthusiastic grin broke out on her face just as she started giggling uncontrollably. "Hehe, maybe… maybe next time you could make me a uniform for the role or something." Her face had a noticeable blush as she spoke.

"W-Well… maybe… I… I-I mean I don't really know what one looks like but o-okay…" For some reason Candace could feel that strange sensation of excitement brewing within her at the thought of making an outfit for Molly. She'd never had anyone personally request something from her before, let alone an entire ensemble.

"Eh, it's just like a colorful and pretty matching top and short skirt, nothing fancy. I'm sure an expert like you could make something like that in your sleep." Molly smiled and gave a wink.

Candace could feel her heart flare up like a phoenix for one of two reasons. It might have simply been the nice compliment Molly added to her explanation. _Or_ , it might have been that the mental image she thought up of Molly in said outfit triggered a strangely stimulating sensation from within for some reason. That particular word from earlier started to enter her head again…

 _Cute_

"W-Well okay… T-Thanks…" She nervously stammered out while brushing away her hair and looking the other way. Her hand fell off into the grass at her side.

"Don't mention it." Molly smiled.

"I… I m-meant for... for of-ffering to help…" She clarified.

"I know that." Molly giggled. She leaned in closer to her. "What else are friends for?"

Candace looked at the soothing smile that was upon her friends face before staring out at the water. Was this really the kind of support she'd been missing out on all her life having never had a friend before? Thinking about it she couldn't recall any times where Luna had been so encouraging to anyone she called a friend or vice versa but perhaps that's just because she only ever had a surface view of their relationship. And then there was Julius who everyone seemed ready to label as her best friend when all he ever seemed to do was put her down. Even Renee and Maya for as friendly as they now were with her hadn't offered more than a pleasant chat yet.

Was Molly just different from all of them in some way?

While it felt like she'd let her mind out to wander for a good while it had really only been a few seconds. Still focused out on the sea she attempted to shift her hand to a more comfortable position in the grass at her side when she noticed there was a strange weight resting atop it. Quickly, she turned over and looked down at it to spot as Molly's own hand rested on it, her own view still focused on Candace. It took a moment for the innocent farmer to notice what her friend's sapphire gem eyes were pointing to but once they did her face flared up like the sun.

"O-O-Oh! S-Sorry!" She nervously exclaimed as her hand quickly yanked away. She turned herself completely in the other direction and started rubbing her head. "S-Sorry about that! Heh heh…"

Candace on the other hand slowly brought her own hand back and up to her chest, grasping it with the other. Molly's hand for the brief moment she felt it was refreshingly smooth and warm. It was pleasant feeling.

"S-So what do you think they're doing back over on the beach?" Molly turned and asked, a hint of nervousness still noticeably carried in her voice.

Candace gave a bit of a shudder and looked away, something in her body telling her to instinctively do so. "I-I don't know… probably t-talking I guess…?"

"Yeah, yeah, probably…" Molly replied, kicking her feet around in the water one last time. "Wanna head back…? We can just hang out over there until it's time for the contest."

Candace looked at Molly, then down at her hand, and then back at Molly again. "A-Alright…"

* * *

The scene back at the beachfront was relatively the same as when the pair had first left. Everyone in attendance was still huddled together in their own respective groups though a few of them had changed crowds or location to keep conversations going and interesting. Just a short distance down from the beginning of the pier Shelly stood talking amongst Simon, Ruth, and Irene. As the pair appeared into sight she almost immediately became detached from the conversation and started to wave them down.

"Candace? Candace is that you there?" She called out while adjusting her glasses. It was obvious she knew that it was and was only questioning so as a means to bring her over to her.

"Y-Yes…" Candace replied as her and Molly approached while she stepped away from her group. "H-Hi grandma."

"Oh now there you are." Shelly smiled as she gave her granddaughter an affectionate hug. "Feeling better?" She asked to which Candace simply nodded. "Ever since we left the house this morning I'd been waiting for you to show up since your sister absolutely refused to even let me step foot off this pier. She actually told me that she saw you get here quite a bit ago but I couldn't seem to find you."

Candace's arms fell to her side as her head dropped. "S-Sorry…"

"There, there Candace, there's no need to apologize now." Shelly placed her hand on her granddaughter's cheek and brought her view back up to her. "The important thing is that you're here with all of us. Today's the first day in a long time we've all been able to gather together as a town and enjoy the little community we have here." She nearly gasped. "Oh, and you too as well Molly. I nearly forgot about you there."

Molly brushed it off with a giggle. "That's alright."

"How have you been dear?" Shelly asked her. "Did your harvest the other day go well? It sounded like you were a little nervous about it the other day when you were over."

"It went super well actually!" Molly answered with a smile. "I don't know why I was getting all worked up over nothing, er, you know other than it was my first time harvesting, but hey, all my crops came in great! And they taste good too! I kept some of them so I could have some food around the house and shipped everything else. Boy, I can't remember the last time I actually had money in my pocket, hahaha."

"I'm glad to hear it. Sounds like we'll all have to try some at some point. " Shelly smiled back. She then looked over at Candace who had resumed hanging her head down in embarrassment, ashamed at herself for believing she'd allowed her grandmother treat her like a child in front of her friend. Shelly put on a bit of a frown before turning back to Molly. "And I must say I do enjoy seeing how much you and Candace seem to enjoy spending time with one another." A tiny blush appeared on Molly's face. "I can't remember the last time Candace was so eager to get to know someone."

Candace gave a jolt as she quickly looked up at her grandmother in shock. To her it sounded as though Shelly had just plainly stated that she had no real friends. Even the typical fit of giggling coming from Molly at her side did little to quell her fear.

"Well what can I say? We really hit it off." Molly quite happily replied. Without warning she wrapped her arm around Candace and pulled her in close to her side. "And now we're best friends!"

Shelly smiled and clapped her hands together. "Well that's wonderful to hear!"

All the while Candace remained deathly still within Molly's grasp aside from the light tremor coursing through her body. Her eyes went wide like a deer in the headlights while her jaw dropped and hung agape in surprise. As that familiar red tint found itself forming upon her cheeks she could feel her heart begin to warm up once more, almost as if triggered by Molly's dangerously close proximity to her.

"Say if that's the case then how about a picture for you two?" They all heard Simon ask as he stepped over to them. "It'd make a nice way to remember the festival today."

"That sounds great!" Molly beamed. She then released Candace and turned to her. "What do you say Candace?"

She didn't even turn to her, still too stunned from shock to even move as her heart raced on. "U-U-Uh…"

"Oh that sounds like a lovely idea." Shelly said essentially answering for her. "You two do look awfully cute today."

Molly bashfully glanced down at her feet and started to leisurely rocking back and forth. "A-Awe really?"

Candace remained frozen as her heart continued to reach levels of speed she had once only felt due to severe social anxiety but was now helpless to know as to what was causing it so much excitement this time around

Simon grabbed the analog camera that was hanging from the strap around his neck and started to prepare its settings. Once ready he raised it up to his eyes and began adjusting the zoom. "Alright, get a bit closer and smile you two."

Molly's view shot back up before glancing back down while she straightened her dress out. She then started to lean in closer to Candace.

"Hehe, maybe I'll finally take a good shot for once." She giggled.

After what felt like an eternity Candace started to shake her head back and forth a few times as her mind finally started to register everything that was going on. With the way her eyes trembled at the sight of Simons lens you'd have thought she was looking down the barrel of a gun. She could feel her typical fears and anxiety ready to pounce at her once more like a predator stalking its prey from the bushes when her rarely seen optimistic side started to speak to her.

 _"It's just a little photo!"_ It said sound both assertive and gentle. _"There's nothing to be afraid of! You can do it!"_

Closing her eyes she took a series of deep breaths before glancing over at Molly who was as excited as ever. She then thought back to the little gallery of photos that adorned Molly's nightstand, all containing her and her other supposed friend. Did she have what it took to earn a spot amongst them? And was it right for her to be overshadowing her other friend like this? What if Molly would have too many pictures after this and have to get rid of one of her old ones? She couldn't live with that guilt. Or what if this was the picture she'd decide to get rid of? Or what if...

 _ **NO!**_

She closed her eyes and shook her head again. No, she had to stay calm. Refocusing her view back on the lens her arms started to burrow themselves into her sides to try and keep herself from jittering so much.

"Alright, on three you two." Simon told them.

She gulped.

"One..."

Her trembling hands found themselves brought up to her chest.

"Two..."

Her face grew red and she could sense she was breaking out into a light sweat.

"Thr-"

As soon as the very start of that dreaded number entered her ears she shut her eyes and cast her view down at the ground at her side. The sound of the camera snapping the photo happened at some point during the motion.

As Molly let out one of her infectious giggles, seemingly oblivious to Candace's fright, Simon lowered the camera and appeared greatly confused. While Candace continued to try her hardest to make herself invisible he gave a concerned look towards Shelly who simply shook her head in response.

"Er... nice, nice. Good photo you two." He said as he turned back towards the pair.

"Really? Hehehe, that sounds great!" Molly cheered. "When can we see it?"

"Well, I still got plenty of film left in this thing so I probably won't start printing them till tomorrow earliest. Would, uh, would you both like a copy?"

Molly happily nodded. "Sure!"

Candace couldn't remember the last time she felt so distraught after hearing that answer. Now Molly would have photographic evidence of the very awkwardness that defined her.

Her hands dropped down from over her heart and wrapped themselves around her body to try and calm herself.

"Thanks a lot Simon!" Molly waved as he wandered off into the greater crowd. She then turned to Candace and smiled. "Hey, I'm going to go and get a drink real fast. Be right back!"

With enough spring in her step that she may as well have been skipping, Molly then headed off towards Hayden's stand back at the start of the pier. With a sigh, Candace looked up at Shelly across from her, a warm motherly smile on her face.

"Come here Candace." She said gently as her granddaughter dragged herself over to her. "There, there, you're alright dear." She took to straightening out some the blue strands of hair Candace had displaced while wildly shaking her head while she spoke. "A little photo never hurt anyone now, did it? You just need to take a deep breath and relax."

Candace took her advice and breathed deeply before glancing up at her. "I know…"

Shelly offered her another smile and looked off towards Molly in the distance, watching as she shared a small chat and laugh with both Hayden and Kathy. "It really is nice how well you two get along, you and Molly that is. I'm glad you two seem to enjoy each other's company, I'm happy for the both for you. You're just like your sister and Kathy… well without the bit of attitude here and there I hope. She seems like a very nice girl who really does like your company."

Candace looked over towards Molly as well and could feel a legitimate smile forming on her face as she watched her. She was happy at their relationship too.

"Oh, I keep nearly forgetting to ask, where was it that you two went off to earlier?" Shelly asked.

"O-Oh, where we went?" Candace asked, sounding a bit nervous now. "She… S-She took me fishing again… F-For the contest…"

"So you're going to enter the fishing contest! My that sounds like it should be fun!" Shelly started to clap the tips of her fingers. "I guess I know who I'm rooting for this year then."

"I… I don't know grandma… I d-don't think I'm going to do well…" Candace muttered. "I-I still don't really know how…"

"Oh Candace, I'm just going to be cheering for you to have fun that's all." Shelly assured her. "That's all you really need to do to win."

Candace gazed up at her at and tired her best to smile. More than anything else right then she desperately wished she could share that attitude.

* * *

When Molly returned a short while later Candace decided to follow as she went off in search of other groups to converse with. While Shelly reconvened with Irene and Ruth the pair found themselves approaching the company of Chase, Owen, and Anissa back near the beach.

As she expected, Candace found herself largely abandoned in Molly's shadow as the group chatted about their lives and other topics. Owen and Anissa both talked about having to watch out for their younger siblings, or in Owen's case cousin, and some of the things she had done in the city during her travels. Molly chimed in a few times to talk about her own experiences back home but, as likely only Candace particularly noted, she seemed to be making an effort to ensure she didn't mention anything that might bring up her family or at least lead anyone to ask about it. Chase took the time to talk about some of the finer dishes he'd been able to cook up now that the fish and crops of the area had been restored. As the early afternoon went by judging by the occasional glances he gave Molly and how he seemed completely enamored whenever she spoke that crush Maya had hinted at back at the inn weeks ago still seemed to be lingering.

Candace of course twisted this fact against herself. Molly had been living in Castanet for not even an entire season and already appeared to have managed to attract the attention of at least one of the area's eligible bachelors, the feistiest one too if Maya's tales of their cooking experiences were true to even the slightest degree. She on the other hand had been living in town for nearly her entire life yet did _anyone_ seem interested in her romantically?

No, at least that's how she saw it.

As the bell up in Celesta Church's steeple gave three chimes Hamilton returned to the podium to announce the beginning of the fishing contest. Molly continued to carry around her gear for Candace as the pair made their way to the portion of the pier that extended further out into the water. With each step Candace could feel as her heart began to pound harder and harder that it felt as though it might break through her ribcage, even as they bumped into Maya.

"Molly! Candace! How's it going you two?" She greeted with a radiant smile.

"Hey, Maya. We're just getting ready to get set up for the fishing contest, how about you?" Molly replied as Candace attempted to scoot behind her.

"Oh! You're both entering the fishing contest? How fun!" She cheered back.

"Well not exactly." Molly clarified as she shook her head. "We both wanted to enter but I guess you have to have your own equipment so I'm letting Candace use my stuff for it."

"Really? You're gonna competing this year Candace?" She asked to which Candace just nervously continued to look away in silence.

Gently, Molly gave her a very light jab with her elbow.

"Y-Yeah…" Candace then replied.

"That's great! Best of luck to you!" Maya smiled. "Watch out for Renee though, she's like a total pro at this."

"Don't you worry about Candace. She's got the best coach ever right here!" Molly proudly declared as she pointed to herself.

"Well then, I'm sure you're gonna do great then." Maya giggled. Suddenly her eyes widened for a moment. "Oh! While you're both here did you tell Molly about my little idea Candace?"

Candace gave a jump from surprise as her own eyes lit up. "O-Oh! N-No! I-I forg-got! I'm sorry!"

Maya just continued to giggle once more and smiled. "That's alright, it's been a pretty crazy day." She focused on Molly. "But I was thinking maybe if you two would like you guys could come over again sometime so we can talk and hang out again. It was fun last time you were over and I promise that this time I'll cook us up something extra tasty. What do you say?"

"Oh I think that sounds lovely." Molly answered. "We'll have to pick a day or something but you can count me in."

"Great!" Maya said as she flashed yet another smile. "Well, I'll let you two go get set up then. Good luck again Candace! I'll be cheering for you." And then with a wave Maya was off.

As Molly stood still for a moment and leisurely laughed the dark cloud looming over Candace continued to grow. Shelly, Molly, and now Maya seemed to be expecting great things from her concerning the fishing contest and she was in deep denial that she'd be able to even barely meet those expectations.

Molly tapped her arm with her elbow. "Come on, let's snag that spot over there next to Renee." She gestured with her head to further along the pier.

Candace's head lowered as she scooted back into Molly's shadow once more and trailed behind her the few feet to the designated spot.

"Hmhm, someone looks like she's ready to win." Molly remarked.

Candace gave a quick jolt, afraid that Molly was referring to her when in actuality she was instead speaking about Renee just ahead who had already cast out and was waiting for a bite.

"Hm? Oh, Molly and Candace, hey there!" She turned and smiled. "You two decide to participate in the contest too?"

"Kind of, haha, I'm a bit short on equipment so it's just gonna be Candace today." Molly replied while taking a seat at the edge of the pier. She left enough room between herself and Renee for Candace.

"Y-Yeah…" Candace quietly spoke as she slowly took her seat. Her heart had stop speeding up by this point, mainly because if it went any faster it would have likely killed her.

"Well, best of luck to you!" Renee nodded. "Here's hoping everyone'll catch a nice fish this year."

"Indeed. Good luck to you." Toby leaned forward from his spot on the other side of Renee to address her.

"Yeah? While mine's gonna be the biggest!" They all then heard Taylor shout from behind. The group turned just as he plopped himself down on the opposite end of the pier and cast his own line out. "Just you wait and see! I'm gonna really win this year! Just you wait!"

Renee and Toby turned back around and just as when Luke showed his own enthusiasm earlier shared a laugh with one another before focusing back on their fishing. Molly giggled a bit as well before holding out her rod for Candace to take.

"All set and ready to go for you!" She announced.

Candace timidly studied the rod before letting her eyes wander up to Molly's face. It carried that same calming smile she was growing more and more accustomed to seeing whenever she addressed her. Just by gazing as it she could feel as her heart began to slow its pace down to a jogging pace while her world gained a bit of light. She was still a good ways off from feeling entirely confident in her abilities to catch anything noteworthy but it was enough to convince her to take the rod from her grasp without a struggle.

"Th-thanks…" She replied. Resting the rod in her lap she heeded her grandmother's advice once more and closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and relaxed herself. Feeling her body grow calm she looked back at Molly, a faint smile was on her face and for once it didn't feel forced at all. That thanks she had given her just a moment ago was for more than just simply readying the pole for her.

Molly placed her hand on her shoulder and patted it. "Give it your best Candace."

Looking back at the water Candace took one last deep breath before sending the line soaring, watching as it landed a fair distance away.

"Oh, nice job Candace." Toby remarked.

She glanced over at him as he turned to her as well and smiled, from between them Renee gave a nod in agreement. Scrunching up a tad, she returned her sights back to the water as that increasingly frequent shade of red made itself apparent on her face. All of this kindness coming from everyone today and yet she still hadn't the faintest clue as to how to handle it. Something in her heart wasn't about to let her cast it all aside however and allowed it to kindle that cozy feeling deep inside. Was she finally able to actually be happy and not afraid of everyone? It certainly felt like it for the moment.

* * *

The pier soon fell silent. Those still in attendance at the festival not participating in the fishing contest migrated over to beach to continue their conversations without disrupting any of those fishing off the pier. Aside from their distant chatter the only sounds that remained was that of the gentle waves brushing up against the supports of the dock below and the occasional whizzing of someone recasting their line out. Though no one else had managed to get even a nibble on their lines yet as the hour slowly passed Candace found herself slowly seeping back into her negativity.

"I-I don't think I'm going to catch anything…" She muttered under her breath.

"Hey, don't give up yet!" Molly comforted. "There's plenty of fish out there. They're all probably just hiding cause they know about the contest or something."

Candace looked back out at the motionless bobber as Molly's comment garnered a giggle from Renee.

"Try just wiggling your line around Candace." She advised. "Some fish like it when their bait looks like its alive."

Candace turned to her, finding herself somewhat confused as to why Renee would try to help her when, at least from her perspective, they were supposed to be in fierce competition with one another. "O-Oh… um, okay…?"

Delicately, she started to jiggle the rod around in lap, watching as the bobber started to irregularly shift out in the water. She started to feel like Renee had only told her that to make her look like an idiot until she felt the end of the line snag onto something and come to a stop. She tired her hardest to pull the rod back but whatever was on the other end refused to let go.

"I-I… I-I think I c-caught something…" She nervously announced.

"Really? That's great! Come on then, reel it in!" Molly cheered.

Nervously, Candace continued to tug away on the line while trying reel in whatever she had caught but it refused to budge even an inch.

"Oh, it must be a fighter." Molly said drawing Renee's attention.

"Huh? Have you got something Candace?" She asked before noticing the girl's struggle. "That's wonderful!"

Candace's mind on the other hand blocked out much of their words and diverted all its focus on trying to succeed. Her heart began to race with excitement, she was actually doing it.

"What? Someone caught something before me? No fair!" Taylor started to exclaim.

If she'd been able to feel as all eyes seemed to fall on her Candace would have likely turned the pole over to Molly or something to try and habitually hide from the spotlight but this felt like it would be a defining moment for her esteem. If she could just prove herself her and caught something, even if it wasn't a winner, then maybe she could prove she had what it took to try and fit in.

"What's all the commotion going on over here?" Luna asked as her and Anissa stepped over. Anissa had largely been drawn in by the sound of her brother throwing a fit.

"We think Candace caught something." Molly answered as the pair focused their attention on her sister's continued fight.

"She entered the contest? Well what do you know, that's great." Luna replied. "Well, great until that slimy thing on the other end comes flying right into your face I guess."

As Candace continued to tug and the wind up the line it felt as though she was making no progress at all, like the line had hardly even moved. Was the fish on the other end just sitting on the ocean floor or something?

"Come on Candace! Give it a big tug! The biggest tug you can!" Molly told her.

Hearing her friend's advice Candace leaned slightly forward and shut her eyes before yanking herself and the pole back with all the strength she had. Imminently, she felt as whatever she had caught seemed to break free of something and start flying in towards the pier.

"It's a can!" Taylor exclaimed in a fit of laughter. "It's a can!"

Hearing his words Candace immediately opened her eyes which then locked straight onto the rusted piece of debris that was tangled up in her line. Just below it a piece of driftwood that it had likely been stuck behind at the bottom of the water floated to the surface. In contrast, she felt what little color painted her skin sink away. That small fire in her heart was immediately extinguished.

"Ahaha! She caught a can!" Taylor continued to laugh while clapping. "A can!"

"Taylor!" Anissa then snapped. "You cut that out right now!"

"Well… I guess that beats a fish to the face…" Luna muttered. "Not that it's any better really…"

"Oh man, that thing put up quite a fight huh?" Luke said, noticeably trying not to laugh as hard as Taylor.

Renee's eyes followed the trash as it gently rocked back and forth. "Heh, isn't that something now…"

"Can't… can't say I was expecting that…" Molly remarked.

Candace's eyes stayed locked on her prize as she felt her self-esteem just shatter right there in an instant. Though Taylor and Luke were the only ones really laughing at her she felt as though the entire world had fallen in an uproar over the sight of her pathetic catch.

Them, Renee, Molly, even Luna were all laughing menacingly at her from her perspective.

The pole dropped into her lap as her head hung down.

"You alright Candace…?" She heard Molly asked.

She nodded and without looking up grabbed the pole and handed it to her.

"I'm… I-I'm going to g-go h-home…" She stammered, her voice sounding as broken as her spirit.

"Candace, you don't have to leave. You still have time to try and catch something else if you want…" Molly tried to tell her to get her to sit back down.

Again, she shook her head, her body now noticeably trembling as a breakdown was imminent.

"Yeah… don't worry Candace. There's… er, there's plenty of real fish out there." Renee said to try and help.

Without a reply of any sort Candace wrapped her arms around herself and started to walk away.

"Candace…?" Luna spoke softly as her sister passed her by. She reached her hand out to grab her but her sister paid it no mind and let it brush right off her shoulder, almost like a she was a ghost.

Faintly, she could hear as they still tried in vain to convince her to stay, almost pleading with her not to go. All her mind could focus on though was how she was only getting what she deserved. She had gone her whole life convinced that it was just the will of the universe for her to remain miserable and alone. Today, even if only for a brief moment, she had tried to break free from that existence and was fairly being put back in her place.

As tears started to finally break free from her eyes and make their way down her cheeks she covered her face and ran as quickly as she could away from the pier.

* * *

 _A/N: What's this? An update that didn't take a month's wait? Crazy. I've had a bit of a creative streak going this past week in regards to the arts so I managed to get myself to sit down for more than a half hour every other day and actually do some serious writing on this. Originally there was a lot more to this chapter, mainly the part I had intended to be chapter 6ish from the beginning, but with how long it is now I didn't want it to be completely overwhelming. I might turn it into the next chapter and have it be a short one or I might change up the outline a bit, I haven't really decided yet. I also got some ideas for a few one-shots lately that I might take the time to write before continuing with this so I hope no one minds, or hey, decides to read them too. It's all up to you but I hope you'll be patient regardless and continue to enjoy this fic._


	13. One Summer Dream

Candace's cries helplessly echoed throughout the empty chamber that was Celesta's chapel before fading into silence. Huddled up at the end of the front pew beside the aisle she sat a broken mess. Though the church lay close enough to the beach to overlook the very spot in which she had humiliated herself Candace nonetheless managed to find some level of safety in fleeing to its lonely walls. After all, anyone who would dare attempt to follow her would no doubtfully believe that home would be the first place she'd run to, leaving the church as her safest bet. Only a handful of people knew it was her second choice of an escape and in her mind none of them had any reason to try and find her. Perry and Shelly had been off on the other side of the beach at the time of the incident and unless someone, likely Luna, informed them of what had occurred they'd have no way of knowing she was so distraught. In regards to her dear sister she hoped that her time away in the city had caused her to forget about her occasional trips to the church or, at the very least, that she would be understanding enough to know it was best to let her be.

And Julius…? Well, her mind couldn't even entertain the thought of him caring enough to try and comfort her.

Besides, where else was she to go? It was the only other place she knew she was welcome to wither away in her own sorrow. She couldn't just run off to some random corner of Castanet and do so, not without making an even bigger scene. Yet something deep within wanted to try and keep running. It wanted her to just keep running off to somewhere where no one could find her. Where no one could hear her cries.

Where no one could remember her.

Such a feeling had always managed to well up inside whenever she embarrassed herself as such, even back with that incident with the scarf, but her heart had always been there to conquer such thoughts. Now her heart had gone silent. Even that optimistic voice had gone missing, vanished without a trace ever since her eyes had caught sight of that rusted piece of scrap that had been bestowed upon her by the forces that be.

Still, even without a guiding light to steer her she found she lacked the capacity to follow through with such an idea. To completely vanish seemed like an awfully large step that she wasn't entirely certain she was ready to take.

Not yet at least.

Instead she just continued to sink further into the darkness that enveloped her, allowing it to corrupt her spirit and send her emotions into a bewildering frenzy.

When she first burst through the wooden doors of the church she had thrown herself before the altar and laid there upon her knees, sobbing uncontrollably. Her arms stayed wrapped tightly around her body, afraid if they let up even the tiniest amount she would shatter into a million pieces right there like a broken vase. Within the darkened sanctuary she managed to feel alone for only just a moment before she could feel the sensation of heartless eyes peering down at her, the very feeling like nails digging deep into her skin. With a gasp her view shot straight up, locking sights with the stained-glass image of the Goddess looking down upon her from her fixture as a hint of sunlight poured in from behind it, causing her very image to become shrouded in a heavenly glow.

Her divine likeness, naturally, was depicted with a loving smile. A smile Candace could now only misguidedly register as malicious pride in a job well done.

" _Why_?" She had angrily shrieked at it between her sobs. "W-Why did you do this?"

The Goddess could only continue to smile, mocking her in silence.

"WHY? Why me!"

As Candace curled up within herself tighter that painful gaze slowly manifested itself from all possible angles.

"W-Why…? Please… j-just why…?"

Each portrayal of her tormenter that adorned the windows of the surrounding perimeter all soon began to watch her. Perry had always preached that everyone in Castanet had been made in her splendid image but if that was true then why was she so plain? Why was she so unappealing when compared to the numerous depictions of her beautiful oppressor that now walled her in?

"Why?" Her words bounced of the walls, unanswered. "Why, why, why…?"

The anger brewing in her heart towards the Goddess eventually managed to subsided about the same time the sun had descended just enough behind the distant hills that it's light no longer shined into the chapel, darkening the images contained in the windows. Crawling over to the nearest seat she promptly found herself apologizing between her sobs for the outburst she had just experienced, still slipping in the occasional please for an answer. Her heart, for as empty as it might have now felt, only grew heavier. Alone, she sat there and let the last few traces of light peeking into the room fade out, leaving her alone in true darkness.

With a sigh, she huddled herself up and thought about those on the beach.

Surely once she fled the fishing contest had managed to finally kick off. Removing either that can or her presence must have surely gotten the fish to come out of hiding. She could just envision all of them gathered at the pier as they celebrated whoever the eventual victor was, her outburst long forgotten. The remembrance of that scene only increased her despair. She'd hardly ever interacted with anyone who had been present when she attempted to prove herself and now they had all seen firsthand what a failure she was. A failure and a crybaby.

Again, she felt that urge to just run. After all, what would anyone in Harmonica lose out on without her around, other someone to laugh at or feel sorry for? She was just an unnecessary burden to them if her only purpose was to make them worry. Though it would now seem she had even failed at, seeing as no one had made an attempt to help her. Surely that meant that no one cared enough to worry about her. Surely it meant that she had finally become as pathetic as her thoughts made her out to be. Surely it meant that she _should_ just run away. Surely…

"Candace…?"

The hushed voice coming from the back of the room filled her heart with enough fright to nearly kill her as she leapt in her seat, not that she'd have minded so in her current state. Barely braking loose from her shell she turned back to spot what appeared to be Molly's silhouette standing in the slightly opened doorway. The street lights around the church grounds behind her were the only source of light at this point in the early night.

Just as quickly Candace turned back towards the altar and wrapped her arms around herself. "G-Go away…" She knew she was only saying such a thing to maintain her seclusion but couldn't help but feel hurt that she'd not only considering saying such a thing to someone but actually did so.

From behind she could hear the door slowly creak open further. "Are… are you okay…?"

"P-Please…! Just… j-just go away…! I… I w-want to b-be al-lone…!" She stammered between her continued sobbing.

The door gave one final moan before sounding shut a moment later.

"I… I just want to talk, that's all." Molly continued, her voice sounding to be coming from about halfway across the aisle. "Please…?

Candace remained quiet aside from her sobs and attempted to wipe the tears from her eyes.

"Nobody likes what happened to you Candace… It was really unlucky…"

"T-Then… T-Then why d-did you all l-laugh at me…?" She quietly stammered. "W-Why…?

"Candace no one was laughing at you!" Molly desperately started to explain. "Nobody except for Taylor and Luke and Taylor already got yelled at by Anissa and his parents for it and Luke feels like a massive jerk now, as he should. We all really feel bad about what happened, honest."

Candace wrapped her arms around herself, sinking back into her seat, not even bothering to glance up at Molly as she now stood before her.

"T-that's why I'm al-lone right…?" She muttered.

Molly drooped down as well in response. "I… I wanted to come, right when you ran off, honest. I was going to but then Luna stopped me. She said it would be better to let you be." Carefully, Molly seated herself in the empty space beside her sobbing friend, her movements making virtual no sound. She set her hands in her lap and looked down. "I… I really did want to make sure you were okay..."

Candace's body gave a mighty shiver as she sighed, tightening her grip around herself. For as grateful as she was for her sister to respect her unspoken wishes the experience of being left alone for so long still filled her heart with an unexpected mixture of anger and despair. Despite her desire to be left alone a part of her had still clung onto the hope that someone would come and seek her out anyway to show that she was cared for. Molly it would seem had arrived too late to answer that call.

"I guess I just thought that you might've come back on your own or something…" Molly continued. "I shouldn't have waited so long… I'm sorry…"

Candace rubbed her eyes before finally affording her friend a glance, "I-Its… I-It's not your f-fault Molly…" She looked away again and took a deep breath. "I-It's n-not your f-fault I'm s-so…"

"But it is Candace!" Molly suddenly exclaimed out of nowhere, cutting her off before she could further belittle herself. "I was the one who practically made you sign up for that stupid contest and I was the one who even decided where you should've fished! If anyone deserves to be blamed for what happened it's me."

Candace remained quiet in response to Molly's outburst and watched as she eventually peered over at her. Her expression, if anything else, practically begged for her to join in shifting the blame towards her. Just like earlier Molly seemed intent on understandably accepting fault for her role in her friend's misery. The longer Candace looked at Molly the more she could feel herself strangely growing angry. In her fragile state just hearing her admit that she was the cause of her humiliation allowed her mind to easily cloud her thoughts with ones of hatred.

Her eyebrows lowered and started to narrow. _She_ was the reason she had to cry today.

Her fingers stretched to and fro before clenching tightly into fists. _She_ was the reason she'd embarrassed herself fishing.

Her teeth started to grind together. _She_ was the reason everyone had laughed at her.

She closed her eyes tightly. _She_ was the reason that she had experienced the most miserable afternoon of her entire life.

As her body violently trembled she could feel as practically every inch of her wanted to just scream and unleash the untapped potential of her suppressed fury out. With her heart still missing her body easily fell to the will of her anger. Finally, as her eyes unclenched she looked upon Molly once more and opened her mouth.

Yet nothing came out…

Even in her heart's absence something managed to keep her strong as she gazed at her friend. She shut her eyes again and felt that dark cloud above her demand that she do _anything_ to take the feeling of guilt and despair off of her and yet her body simply refused.

"I… I-I can't…!" She soon cried as her hands released and fell back down to her sides. "I c-can't Molly… I-I c-can't…"

She could feel her friend's silent stare locked onto her as she sobbed.

"I-It's not your f-fault Molly…" She shook her head as she spoke. "Its n-n-not your f-fault at-t all…"

She felt as Molly gently rested her hand on her back and tenderly stroked it as she so often did.

"I… I just want to be alone…" Candace told her in a soft whisper, her arms draping themselves around her once more.

"Are you sure?" Molly asked, just as quietly. "I'll… I'll go if you really want me to… I just want you to be okay though…"

Candace didn't answer her back and remained motionless, evidently uncertain whether she really wanted her to leave or not.

Molly stilled her hand and pulled herself closer to Candace. "I'm here if you need anything..."

Wiping her eyes, Candace gazed down at dangling feet and sighed. "T-Thank you… B-But… I… I don't w-want you to miss out on the f-festival… It's p-probably already over t-though isn't it…" She sighed again, assuming it's what made Molly finally appear.

Molly shook her head. "No… They were taking a break before getting ready to set up for the fireworks… I take it you won't want to go back for that…?"

After a moment Candace shook her head. As much as going back would likely calm Shelly, who had to indubitably be working herself up with worry by this point, she couldn't dare confront any who had witnessed what had happened yet.

"You g-go Molly…" She muttered. "I… I don't want-t you to miss out on an-ny of the f-fun…"

"But I want to stay and make sure you're okay." She repeated. Her hand found itself down Candace's back and into her own lap as she sat and thought for a moment. Lost in thought, her eyes wandered off towards one of the stain glass windows that distorted the view of the night sky before they lit up like the fireworks that were soon set to go off.

"Hey, I think I might know something that'll get your mind off of all this and cheer you up!" She said with glee as she turned back to Candace.

The poor girl wiped her eyes before looking up at her silently.

"Please?" Molly asked. "I think it'll really help."

"I… I don't know…" Candace said, looking back down at the floor.

Molly jumped from her seat and looked back at her. "Hey, I know a lot of the things I've tried today didn't really work but I _promise_ this will be different. Please? I really think it can help."

With another sigh Candace slowly rose from her seat, straightened her skirt out, and meekly looked up at her friend from the darkness covering her face. "A-Alright…"

With a smile Molly unexpectantly took ahold of Candace's hand and led her over towards the door nearby in the back of the church.

"T-The bell tower…?" Candace asked. "I-I don't think we're sup-pposed to go in there…"

Molly glanced back at her and gave her a wink, her mood was noticeably more excited in hopes of it rubbing off on Candace. "Don't worry, I have permission to go up here… sort of." She shook her head. "Never mind, believe me, it'll be okay. I'll explain in a bit."

* * *

The small arched openings around the entire perimeter of the room at the top of the tower's staircase provided a panoramic view of all of Castanet. From the high peak of Garmon Mountain to the lowest valley of the fields the whole region laid stretched out before the pair. It would have been absolutely breathtaking had Candace not managed to find it so depressing. Every one of Castanet's residents still gathered down at the beach had a place somewhere within the vista below. Whether it was down in the town or up in the mines, everyone belonged, even Molly who'd arrived just under a season ago seemed to have found her place.

But where did that leave her?

To Candace, after this afternoon it now felt as though she didn't belong. She had no place, she had no purpose. There wasn't a single thing about her that gave her a unique place amongst her neighbors.

Her heart started to grow heavy once more.

"It's an amazing view isn't it?" Asked Molly, completely oblivious to her friend's innermost thoughts. From her tone it was clear she was still desperate to try and find some subject that would distract her from her sorrow for even just a few seconds.

"Y-Yeah… Real n-nice…" Candace answered in a mutter.

Gently, Molly approached Candace's side and joined her in gazing through one of the arches. "It's breathtaking really… You had to climb up really high in the city if you wanted to see anything other than more buildings out of a window."

As Molly spoke Candace found her view drifting down towards the ground below. Slowly she felt an urge similar to that one calling for her to run enter her mind, though it came with a sense of fright this time. The church grounds below seemed so far but so inviting. Her heart began to beat louder.

Molly, caught up in admiring the moonlit vista glanced over at her friend and nearly went pale at the sight of how far she was allowing herself to lean out of the small opening.

"T-This is what I wanted to show you though." Molly gave Candace's arm a few light nudges in order to try and direct her attention away from the ground and towards the object in question. "Heh heh, y-yeah, this."

Candace gave another sigh as she managed to pull her view away from the window to spot the quite large purple shaded bell that hung amongst the tower's framework.

"Neat huh?" Molly somewhat nervously continued as she gently grabbed Candace and pulled her closer toward it and out of arms reach of the window.

"The… the bell?" Candace asked, uncertain if this was really the thing Molly believed could cheer her up. Carefully, she reached out and touched its cold metal surface, feeling as the layer of dust that covered it wiped off on her fingertips.

"Yeah, I know, it doesn't look like much… but trust me, it's super important."

Candace slowly turned to Molly and patiently stood quiet, awaiting her explanation.

She walked up to the bell and placed her hand upon it, examining its dusty surface. "This bell if you can believe it is actually attached to the wishes of everyone in town."

"W-What…?" Candace uttered.

"Yeah," Molly nodded. "It hears everyone's wishes and tells them to the Goddess. Or, I guess it did until things started to go south around here."

Gazing at her in silence, Candace's eyebrows lowered in confusion.

Molly nervously smiled. "Yeah, yeah, it's true, believe me. I've been trying to helping it by telling it some of your guys' wishes and now all just needs is one more to feel better." Her expression tried to become more relaxed. "And I want that one to be yours."

Candace looked at her in silent confusion for another long moment before starting to sink into herself. "Are… a-are you t-trying to make fun of me…?"

Molly's eyes widened as much as they could. "W-What?"

Candace closed her eyes and let her head hang down as her body started to shiver. "I… I-I know you k-know I'm upset b-but this… t-this is s-so… childish…"

Molly started to step towards her, furiously shaking her head. "Candace, no, that's not what I'm trying to do at all!"

"T-Then what…?" She asked, just barely looking back up at her.

Molly paused for a moment and peered at the bell behind her and then back at Candace before sighing.

"Heh, how do I put this…?" She began, getting a tad flustered. It looked as though she had hoped that Candace would have just gone along with her, no explanation needed. "You see… well… I, I guess… you must have heard it those few times when these bells starting ringing right…?"

She thought for a moment before shaking her head. "N-No… The church bell hasn't b-been able to ring for a while now…"

"Oh no, it's not just this bell, there's a few of them. When they ring they don't exactly sound like a bell either… They, um, they kind of make this nice melody instead that can be heard from pretty far."

Again, Candace remained silent in thought.

Molly sighed. "I know… it sounds weird and probably crazy but…"

"W-Wait!" Candace suddenly exclaimed. "I… I remember! That… t-that day we went to see Maya, I-I heard it… b-by the fields… It's… It's why I went o-out that far f-for once…"

Molly smiled before looking back at the bell, taking a deep breath. "Heh, well, that makes this easier I guess." She glanced back at Candace and then the bell. "Or maybe not…" She started to scratch her head. "This next part, er… it gets a little… weird…"

Candace returned to her quiet and attentive state.

"Look… this… this is going to sound weird, and I mean like _really_ weird, but… well, it's hard to explain really but…" She paused and took about the deep breath she could. "This bell and the others are actually some of the Harvest Goddess's sprites…"

Candace did a double take. "W-What…?"

"Weird? Right, I know, I know, let me explain!" Molly assured her. She brought her hands together and tried to keep herself calm as she contemplated her thoughts. "Candace… I… I don't really know how to explain it but… well, I… I can sort of see them…"

Again, her friend remained quiet to let her continue.

"I… I don't really know why…" Her eyes carefully looked her friend's straight on. "But… please, you have to believe me when I say that this bell is important… Candace, you know I would never try to treat you like a child, especially when I'm trying to help you…"

The feeble girl's lips began to quiver as she shut her eyes again, that crushing sense of guilt fell directly on top of her. "Molly… I'm… I'm s-sorry…"

She was about ready to cry until she felt Molly gently take ahold of her hand.

"Candace, it's alright." She said with a small smile. "I… I should have explained it all first, it was my bad."

Candace rubbed the small number of tear fragments in her eyes. "S-So… you can really s-see harvest sp-prites…?"

Molly uneasily nodded. "Y-Yeah… weird… right…?"

"Have… H-Have you ever s-seen the Harvest G-Goddess…?" Candace asked, letting herself free of Molly's grasp before holding her hands down in front of her.

"A few times…" Molly shyly replied back after a moment.

Slowly, Candace's head fell down again. "Y-You… you really are amaz-zing…"

Molly gained a slight blush. "W-What? No, it's… er, well I guess I can't say it's nothing but still."

Despite Molly's modesty Candace couldn't feel anything else but insignificant right then. It seemed that now Castanet's latest resident wasn't just a remarkably popular girl but also some special oracle of sorts. Compared to her she was nothing.

"You know… it's… it's nice how understanding you are about a lot of me…" Molly mentioned, less cheerful than before. "I… I wish people could be more accepting about, well, some of the more… _weirder_ parts of me…"

Just as she looked as though she was about to join Candace in hanging her head in distress the bell beside her began to slightly wiggle, drawing her attention.

"Right! The bell!" She nearly exclaimed.

Candace glanced back up at her.

"Just like that Candace, all you need to do is tell it your wish." She instructed her.

Candace's eyes locked focus on the purple instrument before her. "My… My w-wish…?"

Molly nodded. "Whatever it is you really wish for. That's all you have to tell it."

Slowly, she approached it. "Is the s-sprite like a genie…? Would… would w-whatevver I ask for c-come true…?"

Molly appeared unsure as she scratched that back of my head. "I don't think so? I'm not really sure. All I know is that it'll make it easier for the Goddess to hear it but even then I don't know if she can really do things like that, you know, depending on what it is. This all still sounds so weird doesn't it?"

Candace had already started to allow her body to wilt again. Of course it wouldn't come true, even if the Goddess heard it. Her prayers had been ignored for so long now what difference would this make.

"Go on Candace, just tell it what you want. Whatever you wish for deep down in your heart just say it." Molly smiled.

"M-My wish…" Candace slowly brought her hands up over her heart as she felt it grow heavy. "M-My wish is…" She tightly shut her eyes, feeling as they started to grow damp. "All… All I want… A-All I want is…"

Molly slightly leaned inwards in anticipation.

Swiftly, Candace dropped her arms back at her side and threw her head back to the starlit sky just behind the roof.

 _ **"All I want is to finally be happy!"**_ She cried out to the heavens above.

All at once the sound of her knees falling upon the hard wooden surface of the tower's floor was drowned out by the melody of the sprite's song ringing throughout the night just as the first fireworks at the beach shot off. The medley of the bell sounded unlike all the others that had rang out before it, carrying an almost melancholic tune instead. The confusion of noise was unheard to Candace as let her head fall back forward as she started to cry uncontrollably. Truly if any piece of her had still managed to be intact it was now completely shattered.

"T-That's a-all I w-want!" She continuously stammered. "T-That's it!" She wrapped her arms around herself and hunched over. "That's it… I… I-I just w-want to k-know what it-t's like! Why? Why c-can't I?"

Without a word she felt Molly immediately drop herself before her, embracing her as tightly as she could. Candace allowed herself to bury her face into her shoulder though Molly didn't seem to care in the slightest, only pulling her in closer.

"W-Why?" She asked again "Why?"

Gently, Molly started to rub her back.

As the sound of explosions continued to fill the sky Candace knelt there and cried, uncaring of how much time had passed.

"Candace… I… I don't know what to say…" Molly eventually said. "I… I always did kind of get the impression you thought you had it rough but…" She tried to pull her closer but she'd already reached that limit. "I''m sorry…"

"I-It's… it's n-not your fault…" Candace sobbed. "It's… I-It's mine… I'm s-so p-pathetic aren't I-I…?"

"Candace…"

She shook her head. "N-No…! S-Say it…! Just… J-Just s-say it… I-I'm pathetic… N-Nobody care's ab-bout me…"

"Candace... that's not true…"

Candace effortlessly tried to escape from her grasp but Molly absolutely refused to let her go. Instead she just pressed herself further into her body.

"I-I'd be b-better off dead…" She cried. "Nob-body w-wants me around a-anyway… T-They'd all be b-better of-ff if I j-just d-died…"

"How can you say that?" Molly nearly snapped. "What about Shelly and Luna? They care about you!"

She felt Candace shake her head. "T-They're my f-family… they h-have to… I-If I w-wasn't around any m-more they w-wouldn't c-care… besides… nobody e-else l-likes me… My… m-my whole life I've l-lived here and not o-one p-person likes me…"

After a brief moment, Candace's head rose up with Molly's chest as she took a deep breath.

"I like you Candace…" She whispered.

Candace stayed quiet in her arms and felt as she was hugged tighter.

"I… I like you a lot Candace… I really do…" She continued. She then pulled her weeping blue friend away from her and placed her hand on her face, bringing her eyes up to her own. "Candace I… I might not have been here long but… I'm really glad I got to meet you…"

Candace stayed fixated on her and attempted to wipe her tears.

"You… you might not think so but I think you're a really nice, beautiful and incredible girl…" Molly could barely her herself speak over the sound of her beating heart. "You're able to make such wonderful designs when you sew that everybody loves and I know each one of them would miss you if you were gone…"

The waterworks began to pick up again.

"I really mean it Candace…" She concluded as she pulled her back in. "I really do like you…"

As Molly's words echoed through her mind Candace pulled herself closer into Molly's chest. Finally, after so long she could feel something returning to her heart.

That little spark.

Allowing Molly to gently cradle her in her arms Candace could now see why no matter how much her mind had tried to force her to she hadn't been able to scream at her earlier. For as much as she'd tried to convince herself just a moment ago of the opposite she had in fact felt what being happy was like and it was all thanks to Molly.

She was the reason she'd been able to genuinely smile for the first time in ages back when they'd initially met. She was the reason she'd broken free of her confinement to her house. She was the reason she had started to make an attempt to be social and succeeded to an extent. And now she was the reason that she wanted for nothing more than to just continue to lie in her arms and feel her heart jump all aflutter with that peculiar sensation of glee.

" _I like you…"_

As those words keep echoing through her head she could hear the farthest corner of her heart whisper back,

" _I… I like you too…"_

* * *

 _A/N: No, I am not procrastinating writing the last essay of my college career by finishing this chapter, how dare you accuse me of such nonsense.  
_

 _I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter as a fair chunk of it's been sitting in my docs folder for almost 4 months now. Bit of a fun fact, this story was actually originally going to be a one-shot/songfic consisting of basically this chapter but I thought it'd be better to flesh it out into a full story instead. Seems to have worked out for the better. As always if you liked the chapter and really want to consider leaving a review and hopefully after the finals/graduation chaos of next week I can start to get a steadier updating schedule going._


	14. A Simple Request

The clear night sky continued to flash sporadically and light up the area in a wide array of colors as the fireworks display still carried on at the beach. All the while, Candace continued to unenthusiastically march herself down the steps leading directly to the tailor shop from the church while Molly kept pace. Her friend's arm found itself draped over her shoulders as the worrisome farm girl sought to comfort her as best she could. Once in front of the door to her home Candace weakly lifted her head up before taking a deep sigh, feeling as Molly's arm removed itself from her person. Proceeding to hug herself she turned back to Molly, a faintly muttered "Thanks," sounded from under her breath. Without delay Molly gently wrapped her own arms around Candace and brought her in close.

"Things are going to get better Candace, I promise." She gently spoke into her ear. "Just you wait and see."

Without much hesitation Candace's arms untangled themselves from around her body and enveloped themselves around Molly instead. She gave a series of silent nods while she pulled so close into her you'd have thought she was trying to fuse the two of them together. If anything she hoped that the gesture would express the deep gratitude she could only wish she had the words to say aloud. For the longest time they stood silently under the flashing sky and held each one another, neither one seeming ready to let go for their own personal reasons. Molly eventually gave a sigh and she pulled away, feeling as Candace feebly attempted to keep her close. A part of her still didn't want to let go either.

"I promise Candace." She repeated as she now looked her in her sapphire shaded eyes. "Things _will_ get better."

Candace cast her eyes down at the ground as to try and avoid crying, the only way she knew how to expression emotion at this point. "T-Thanks…

She remained unmoved as Molly snatched her up for one final brief hug. With a deep breath her friend then released her once more.

"And hey… If you ever need anyone to talk to about anything I'm here for you." A faint but reassuring smile appeared on her face for whenever Candace would look back at her.

For a split second Candace's eyes peeked up at Molly before moving straight back down to the floor. Her hands crept up over her chest and held themselves there. "T-Thank you…"

Molly lingered in place for another moment, attentively watching Candace as though she was expecting something further. When she continued to do nothing but stare at the cobblestone ground in silence she cleared her throat.

"I guess I should probably get going then…" She told her.

Candace peered back at her again. "Y-You're… You're not g-going back t-to the beach a-are you…?"

Molly shook her head. "No, I'm probably just going to head back home at this point and go to bed." That relaxed expression came upon her face again. "You don't have to worry Candace, I'm not going to tell anyone about what happened back at the church."

Candace jumped a smidge and gave a slight gasp in surprise at Molly's response. She hardly expected such a gesture with how much people seemed to enjoy gossiping nowadays.

"I know you'd probably prefer it if nobody else knew about happened back there unless you told them yourself so hey, consider it a secret between us friends." She went on before ending with a wink.

In an effort to remain composed Candace quickly gazed back down at the ground. Uncertain if she was doing so because she felt ready to begin crying again from gratitude or to conceal the appreciative color on her face she kept her eyes glued on her shoes, using the last of her willpower to stop herself from lunging at her friend for another hug, not wanting to seem any more desperate. "T-T-Thank you…" She uttered.

She heard as Molly giggled as she so often did. "What else are friends for?"

Once more, after a lengthy second Candace snuck a glance up at her just as she started to turn around.

"I guess I'll see you around then huh…?" Molly said, appearing hesitant to actually begin leaving.

Candace replied back with a simple nod and watched as Molly fixated her gaze on her as well. As her mind attempted to interpret what it was exactly that Molly was expecting or hoping for she felt as her heart started to skip a beat again. Just what was it about simply looking at Molly that was causing her to constantly become so flustered?

"R-Right…," Molly eventually stammered to break the silence. She began to awkwardly tap the ends of her finger together and backed away from Candace. "S-See you around."

Watching as her friend disappeared into the night, their silhouette briefly appearing in full with each vibrant flash from the sky, Candace felt a curious sense of regret come over her. She wished she hadn't allowed Molly to simply walk away and should have latched onto her when she had the chance and refused to let go. How she longed to just be close to Molly again, even if only for just another second, though she couldn't put her finger on exactly why she felt such a desire. It had to be caused by more than just their position as friends, after all Luna never seemed to express such a desire towards any of her friends. It was probably just her insecurity with herself causing her to yet again wish to cling to the only one around who cared enough to give her the thought she needed.

When Molly finally strayed out of view she sighed and turned to the door before slowly creeping it open. The lights inside the home were still set off like she'd left them before heading out, indicating to her that Luna and Shelly were still likely off at the dock with the others. Taking advantage of the situation, Candace quickly scurried off into the bedroom and prepared herself for bed, knowing that it would be easier to confront her family about what had occurred after a full night's rest. As she laid her head gently upon her pillow she found that for once sleep seemed ready to come to her without a fight. After the absolutely mentally exhausting experience that had been the entire day her mind was ready shut itself off for a while before any further self-destructive thoughts could make themselves heard.

* * *

A shiver coursed through Candace's body as her eyes fluttered open to the first cool breeze of the fall season that had managed to mysteriously wrap itself around her. Having curled herself up tightly beneath her sheets for warmth she allowed herself to unfurl before turning over to the direction of the window, spotting it open as was to be expected. Luna must have opened it at some point after returning and somehow managed to forgot about it despite the drastic change in temperature. With Luna now on her mind Candace's view brought itself over to her sister's bed to find it empty and unmade. Yet another morning she'd appeared to have overslept.

Sighing, she sat herself up and draped her feet off the side of the bed before sliding into the slippers at its side. She then scooted herself off onto the floor and headed over to the window to close it. Once shut she turned around and redirected herself over towards the bedroom door. As her hand placed itself on the knob and began to twist it open the muffled sound of voices in the other room became apparent

"…going to be much better once she wakes up. You'll see."

Candace paused for a moment and stepped away from the door, recognizing the voice as Luna's. They were talking about her out there? Carefully, she leaned in closer and pressed her ear up against the wooden surface of the door.

"I just don't know about that at this point Luna…" She could hear Shelly sigh in response. "That's why I don't think it'd be such a bad idea if she went. It couldn't hurt."

"I suppose you're right…"

"We can really only just leave it up to her, it is her decision in the end after all. We'll wait for her to get up and eat a little something before we talk with her… you did say she was in there right…?"

"Yes grandma! She's fine! She's just sleeping in, sheesh, she's not the kind of girl who'd do something crazy like run away after what happened yesterday!"

Candace felt a sharp pain in her heart at her sister's words as she stumbled back from the door. If only they had known the dark thoughts that had clouded her mind the previous night. Would Luna still fight as valiantly to defend her sister's perceived wellbeing if she knew how much she herself had given up? Who was she kidding, of course she would, that optimistic attitude of her's wouldn't allow her to do otherwise.

Unwilling to allow Luna to continue such a foolish endeavor Candace quickly thrust herself out the door and into the kitchen, much to the surprise of Shelly and her sister.

"Ho! Candace, you startled me there." Shelly exclaimed as the teacup in her hand trembled from shock and nearly fell out of her grasp.

"C-Candace! Hey, glad you finally join us." Luna said, trying to sound a bit more composed.

A faint blush appeared on Candace's face as she bowed her head quickly in apology. "S-Sorry…"

Shelly took a deep breath before setting her cup down on its plate. "Oh it's quite alright, just be a little more careful next time when you decide to come out I suppose." She gave smile in her direction but it was clear that there was some level of worry hiding behind it. "It's nice to finally have you up with us."

Nervously, Candace's eyes wandered over to the clock to spot that she'd yet again managed to sleep straight into the afternoon. She could hardly blame herself for needing so much rest after the long day she'd just experienced but sleeping in so late felt irresponsible and only worsened her mood.

"I-I… I-I had no idea it w-was so late…"She whimpered as her head sagged lower.

"It's quite alright Candace." Shelly tried to assure her. "Your sister and I were just finishing up lunch, come and join us." She motioned towards the sandwich ingredients spread across the kitchen table. "Help yourself to a sandwich if you like or maybe you'd prefer something more breakfast orientated? It's up to you."

"Yeah, come and join us." Luna beckoned from her spot across from their grandma.

Despite their kindness and the roar of hunger from her stomach Candace still found herself shaking her head. "N-No t-thanks… I'm… I'm n-not really t-that hungry…"

After taking another sip of tea from her cup Shelly worrisomely placed it back down. "You hardly had anything to eat yesterday though… you haven't been eating much at all lately…."

Candace hugged herself and tried to look away from the table in shame though her eyes couldn't resist eventually glancing over at Luna. She looked to be just as concerned as Shelly.

"You sure Candace?" Luna gently asked. "I can make you something while you get changed for the day if you want."

Candace's head lowered as it faintly shook yet again. "N-No… I'm fine…"

She could hear as her grandmother took a deep breath. "Candace… sit down."

The dark clouds that had spent the better portion of the previous day suffocating her came swarming back in an instant as a chill ran down her spine. Unable to come up with any sort of excuse on a moment's notice, Candace silently slid onto the closest available seat, her view still trying its best to stay focused on anything but her family.

"What's wrong?" Shelly asked, her tone sounding disturbingly firm.

Candace folded her hands into her lap and remained quiet.

"Candace, if something is wrong I want you to tell us." She explained sounding almost distraught. "You haven't been acting like yourself lately and I want to know what it is so your sister and I can try to help you."

In what felt like a swift act of defeat Candace dropped her head down as her hands fell off to her sides. "I… I d-don't know g-grandma…" She sniveled.

Shelly leaned closer towards her granddaughter and offered her hand to her atop the table. "What do you mean Candace…?"

With a sigh Candace briefly brought her focus up to her grandmother's gaze. "I… I…" As her head lowered itself she could feel that commonplace urge to just cry start to well up inside of her. "I d-don't know why I feel t-this way grandma… why I'm s-so…" She took a pause in hopes that a more pleasant word to describe her situation would come to mind, gulping when it remained blank. "Unhappy…"

Shelly leaned back in her seat and sighed before looking over at Luna and then back at Candace. "Candace, I'd like for you to go and stop over at the clinic today… after you've eaten." Her eyes fell down towards her cup and she stirred it around until she felt her daughter's gaze slowly shift onto her. "I had a talk with Irene yesterday and she'd like to see you. Just to have a little talk with you, nothing more."

Candace's wilted yet again in her chair. At that moment she wasn't sure what upset her more, the fact that there was no way she could reasonably deny her grandmother's request, or that she had so willingly disclosed her pitiful mood to someone else. Sure, she had already been unable to shake the feeling that everyone already knew and was harshly judging her for it yet having proof that it was known understandably only made her feel worse.

"I know it might seem like an inconsiderate thing to do to go and gossip like that but I only mean well Candace, I want to try and help, like I said." Her grandmother explained.

"I… I k-know…" Candace muttered, her eyes glued to the sight of her lap.

"Come on Candace, it'll be alright." said Luna in a gentle voice. She reached her hand over to her with hopes of drawing her attention, succeeding for a brief moment. "I mean, what's the worst that can happen?"

For a second Candace managed to feel the intended effect of her sister's words before she considered how easily it could've been applied to her situation the previous afternoon.

"Let's go fishing! What's the worst that can happen? _"_ How about the most humiliating moment of her life? Without delay she started to sink back into her seat.

"Candace please, all she wants to do is talk and see if there's anything she could do to help, it is her job you know." Shelly went on. "All I'm asking is that you just make a quick visit like she asked and nothing more, unless of course she recommends anything but we won't know if that's the case unless you talk first."

Candace gave a sigh and folded her hands in her lap. "A-Alright… I-I'll go…"

She peered up at her family before her and put on a hollow smile, watching as they tried to treat the gesture as a genuine thing by smiling back themselves instead of further worrying. That sinking feeling entered her stomach as she came back down, nervous about whatever the day would now hold for her. That so often ignored sense of hunger came along with it.

"A-After… A-After a l-little breakfast suppose…"

* * *

 _A/N: I know this is pretty short compared to most of the other chapters but... I don't know. Life's been pretty busy the past two months what with graduating, moving from home and what and not and I don't really know if I'll really have time, or quite frankly, motivation, to getting any more work here done. I really wanted to finish this story and start some other ideas but it just seems like that isn't in the cards for the foreseeable future and beyond. I'm really grateful to anyone who liked, followed or reviewed this story or any others of mine and if this is really all I can manage to get done then I'm sorry that this was the best I could do._


	15. Doctor's Notice

Even in spite of her heavier fall clothing Candace couldn't help but violently shiver as she stood frozen in place before the clinic that sat just a few feet above the comfort of her home. Her entire being was caught in a polarizing struggle as half her mind pleaded for her to just turn back and return to the familiar seclusion of her room while the other half attempted to reason with her that this would be for her own good. All the while her body refused to budge a single inch. With how much this latest "crisis" managed to occupy her thoughts she could hardly spare an ounce of attention to what anyone happening by might be thinking about her for once. Her tunnel vision blocked off the entire world aside from the narrow path of white bricks in the ground heading up to the clinic's front door that sat just only a foot away.

She might have remained in place all day had she not begun to feel the gentle nudge of the wind brush upon her back in what felt like an attempt to goad her towards the door. Without delay she gave into the sensation's request. With the events of the previous night still front and center in her thoughts she felt the urge to give into what could easily have been a case of divine intervention.

Perhaps speaking to that bell allowed her heart's wishes to reach the ears of the Goddess in a way sobbing away in the chapel all these years hadn't. The question of why it'd possibly had taken such an admittedly silly gesture to finally elicit any sort of response from the Goddess briefly entered her mind but was quickly overwritten by storm of more standard thoughts. After all, _someone_ had to try and prevent her from feeling optimistic.

" _Are you serious? Have you forgotten what happened last time? You can't seriously think that the Goddess will start caring about you after you made a fool of yourself do you? Besides, what could anyone possibly do to help you? Why would anyone even care about your problems to begin with? There's no point in…_

This seemingly never-ending train of self-destructive thoughts was brought to a screeching halt as Candace summoned what little willpower she could muster and thrusted herself through the door of the clinic. The bell that sat above the interior doorframe gave a soothing jingle that brought a brief moment of clarity to her world while announcing her arrival. With her mind temporarily at ease she allowed herself the opportunity to take one deep breath before beginning to examine her surroundings. Compared to the more colorful and artistic layout of her home, mostly in part to the mountains of yarn unintentionally scattered about, the main room of the clinic felt boring and sterile. What at a glance appeared to generic health posters adorned the walls and any semblance of stray equipment or material all seemed to have been dealt with. The clock hanging on the wall off to her side ticked away each second she remained motionless, providing the only sound in the otherwise quiet room.

Most noticeable to Candace, however, was how Irene appeared to have yet to notice either the bell or her presence. Nonchalantly, she sat stationed at the desk just across the room from her and toiled away at the minor stack of papers strewn across it. For as unintentional as it likely was it still caused quite the dent to what little remained of her self-esteem. For a moment she contemplated what the chances of being of able to sneak out unnoticed would be but ultimately knew in her heart what she had to do.

"H-Hi Irene…" She announced softly, certain she'd spoken to quiet to actually even be heard. She could hear her own heartbeat in her ears already.

Irene flinched in her spot and quickly glanced up to spot the poor girl standing stiff in the doorway. "Oh! Candace! I didn't see you there! I must have been so preoccupied I didn't hear you come in. I'm terribly sorry."

"H-Hi…" Her mind was a complete blank on how exactly she was supposed to respond next.

"How are you feeling today?" Irene then asked while sorting her paperwork off to the side in order to give Candace her undivided attention.

Candace hesitated for a moment before answering. "F-Fine… I g-guess…" She paused once more to take an opportunity to gulp before speaking again. "M-My… M-My grandma said that you w-wanted to see m-me…"

"Ah, yes, I talked with Shelly yesterday and she says you're not doing too well so I thought that I might be able to help in some way." Irene put on a smile as she rose up from behind the desk and towards Candace.

Candace brought her hands up close to her chest and looked off in the other direction, a tad grateful for the gesture, but still overwhelmed with embarrassment.

Still smiling, Irene motioned towards the room at the side. "Why don't we head over to the office? I promise this shouldn't take too long. I'd just like to talk with you about a few things."

Tentatively, Candace peered back at Irene and nodded her head ever so slightly. As Irene started to make her way into the next room Candace remained motionless for another moment, unable to shake the devestating sense of fear clawing away at mind. Even from her spot in the doorway she could see that the office beside her was as devoid of any possible audience as the entrance she currently stood in yet she couldn't shake the feeling that she was now under constant watch.

What were they going to talk about? Were they actually going to even talk in the first place? What if this was all some sort of ploy to lure her into a false sense of security before they'd try to send her away or something? Maybe whatever Irene had planned was sure to fail and she truly was hopeless. Could that simply be the case?

"Are you coming dear?"

Quickly, Candace's eyes darted up to spot as Irene stared back at her, waiting for her to follow.

"Y-Yeah…" She quietly muttered before starting to drag her feet across the floor.

Inside the office Irene made her way over to the desk and began to rummage through its drawers. "Why don't you have a seat and make yourself comfortable? I just need to remember where I left that notepad."

Without any sort of acknowledgement Candace turned towards the bench at her side and sat down. She took a moment to adjust herself comfortably on its light cushioned surface before looking back towards Irene as she pulled her own seat up to her.

"Now then, what do you say we get started then?" She asked.

Candace silently nodded and brought her hands into her lap, allowing her head to droop down as well.

Irene flipped open her notepad and gently rested the pencil down atop the page. "So, how about you start by telling me how you're feeling today."

The room remained dead silent until Candace finally answered.

"I-I… I-I feel f-fine… Like I s-said before…" She responded, already beginning to nervously tug on her already stretched out sleeves. "I… I d-don't feel sick or anything…"

"Well you certainly don't _look_ to be sick dear. But, what I really want to know is, well, how you feel mentally." Irene clarified.

"O-Oh… mentally…? Like… L-Like in my h-head…?" Candace asked, already convincing herself she was an idiot for misunderstanding such a simple question.

Irene nodded in response prompting Candace to once again take an eternal pause.

"I… I guess… Well… Well I…"

She couldn't do it.

Candace's hands abruptly came to a halt from their menial task of trying to calm her and fell firmly into her lap as her head dropped again as well. Her eyes hid from what she could only believe was Irene's judging stare in the shadows of her bangs.

"It's understandable that you feel a bit nervous Canace," Irene told her. "I know all of this must make it feel like there's something humiliating about whatever problem it is you might be dealing with but I assure you it's nothing to be embarrassed about dear. This is a safe environment for you to tell me whatever it is that's bothering you so I can do everything I can to help you. Anything you tell me here today or any other time you stop by is kept strictly between the two of us."

Candace remained still for a moment and processed her words before slowly peeking up at her.

"I-It is…?"

"Of course." Irene nodded. "You have my word as a woman of medicine. The only people who will know anything about what you tell me are you, myself, and anyone who you might decide to tell yourself, no one else."

Again, Candace looked down into her lap before taking a deep breath.

"W-Well… W-Well I… I guess I f-feel… I guess I feel l-like…"

She stopped herself again, shaking her head this time as she did so.

"I-I, I just… I just… I-It's this!" She stuttered out angrily, forcibly burying her face in her hands. "I… I-I just can't!"

Irene drew her attention away from her notepad and placed it all on Candace. "You can't what?"

"A-Anything!" Candace practically shouted as she erupted towards her, allowing Irene to catch sight of her growing puffy red eyes. It felt like the dam inside that was trying to seal away her true feelings had begun to break under pressure. "I-I feel l-like I can't do anything!" She buried her face again. "A-Any t-time I need to d-do something I always start to f-feel like this…!"

Irene turned in her seat and snagged the tissue box on the desk and held it out towards Candace for when she was ready. After a moment of light sniveling Candace glanced up at her and accepted her gesture without much hesitation. As she took to wiping her eyes Irene jotted some notes down.

"It's alright Candace, it's alright. Getting you to start opening up like this will help make this whole thing easier. Remember, it's nothing to be embarrassed about. If you feel like you have to cry or shout then so be it, just be honest to both me and yourself. Remember, I'm not judging you, I'm here to help."

Candace looked up at her quietly nodded before resting her hands in her lap and trying to calm herself. She took a series of deep breaths and attempted to stop herself from shaking so much.

"So, and of course you may answer when you're ready, would you say that it's just anxiety or that you feel nervous when you get in a situation like this, or do you think that it's something else that causes you to feel this way?" Irene then asked.

With her body showing no signs of easing up any time soon, Candace wrapped her arms around herself and held on tight to reduce how much she was jittering in her seat. Still, with each shake she could feel as part of that defensive wall she had set up around her emotions continued to chip away.

"I… I d-don't know…" She finally uttered out, her voice sounded so hollow. "I-I just… I just f-feel so useless all the time…"

Her tone remained unfeeling and dead as she continued to answer while Irene took almost literal note of every word.

"I-I… I-I feel like I can never d-do anything anyone wants me t-to… Like t-that I'm just always g-gonna screw up or just let t-them down…" Her arms dropped to her sides in an instant without a sound. Again, her head sank. "I'm a failure…"

"Now Candace, I know you might feel like things are that way but I assure you they're not." Irene said as she returned focus to her.

"But how?" She practically shouted at her. "How can you possibly know that things aren't that way? How can you possibly know how I feel each day? How can you ever possibly know how I feel? How?"

In spite of Irene remaining unchanged towards her outburst Candace felt an overwhelming amount of guilt build up inside her. After being broken down to her absolutely worst the previous night she could hardly control her emotions at this point.

"I… I-I'm sorry…" She sighed, fall back into her seat. "I… I didn't m-mean to yell at you…" She felt ready to cry again.

"Think nothing of it Candace. Trust me, it'll make things easier if you just react however feels natural." Irene assured her.

Candace quietly sniveled to herself for a moment before nodding and sitting back up.

"M-My… My grandma tells me t-that all the time… everyone does…" She muttered. "That things will just get b-better…. They've always told me t-that…"

"Do you know how long you've felt like this Candace?" Irene asked.

Candace stared at her hands resting in her lap, unable to provide an answer. It seemed like this had been her attitude towards life ever since she was born, that picture that sat on the nightstand in her room was basically a testament to that. Closing her eyes she struggled to think back to a time where she felt happy or even just fine for more than a day or two. Recently she'd been plagued by nothing but feelings of despair and as a child she constantly felt nothing sort of inadequate compared to Luna.

 _Luna_

The name of her sister suddenly became imbedded in her mind. She couldn't possibly be the cause of all her distress could she? There was no denying that she'd always felt like she'd been living her whole life from within her massive shadow but there was no way that alone was to blame. She refused to belief it. How could she even attempt to resolve such a problem? Get rid of her sister?

" _You going away would be the easier solution…"_

She shook her head and hugged herself tightly, more so to prevent herself from getting up and running away at that point than comfort. "I-I don't know…. I… I don't…"

Irene examined her for a moment before making more notes as Candace watched in hopes that she believed her.

"Now Candace… I need you to answer this one honestly. Please, it's important."

Candace jumped in her spot and gulped, certain that Irene saw through her until she continued with her question.

"When you get these thoughts do you ever… well, engage in any self-destructive behavior?"

Candace gave her a blank stare.

"Do you, well, hurt yourself when you feel like this?" Irene clarified for her. "Do you get anything like suicidal thoughts or try anything like cutting yourself when you feel depressed, like that you feel that you're the problem and hurting yourself or worse will make it better? It can be a common symptom for people with a level of depression like yours."

Candace's stare only grew more empty as she stared off in Irene's direction, her view no longer focused on her but just the space in front of her. Was this type of behavior expected from her? Did Irene ask expecting her to say yes?

Suddenly her eyes grew wide.

What if Luna believed she did such things? Or Shelly? Or everyone? What if the reason everyone avoided her was because they thought she was some sort of suicidal maniac, like she was supposed to be feared for being too far gone? Would Irene even believe if she said no? She'd only be telling the truth…

But those constant thoughts about running away, wishing that she could just disappear, and just last night in the bell tower with Molly, she hadn't seriously been considering suicide this entire time had she?

She couldn't even imagine what answering yes would mean as her body began shaking once more. If everyone thought she was harming herself they'd probably try to lock her away somewhere "safe" or something so she wouldn't be a danger to anyone. It'd probably just make them all try harder to avoid her wouldn't it? But… she wasn't seriously like that was she…?

In an instant and without warning she found herself throwing herself at Irene, grabbing her by her shirt.

"N-NO!" She screamed, uncaring if her voice carried outside the walls of the clinic. "N-NO! I'm n-not like that! I'm n-not like that I s-swear! Please! Please! I'm not l-like that!"

Irene was obviously taken back by her outburst.

"P-Please Irene! Please!" She continued, tears starting to streak down her cheeks yet again as she only tightened her grip. "I-I don't do anything like that! I d-don't! I j-just want to be h-happy! T-That's all! I just w-want to be h-happy! I-I don't want to die!"

Irene placed her hands on her back to try and calm her. "Candace…"

"T-That's all I want! To be h-happy!" Candace removed her hands from Irene and allowed them to drop at her side. "P-Please… please d-don't take me away… Please… I-I'm not like that… I p-promise..."

"Candace no one's going to take you away from anyone." Irene told her as she stood and resumed comforting the sobbing girl. "I only ask because I want to be sure that I'll be doing everything I can to help you. It's going to be okay, alright?"

Candace refused to even look at her in her current state.

"Take a moment to relax yourself, alright dear. We can finish up when you're ready."

With a weak nod Candace dropped back into the seat behind her and tried to take a few deep breaths. For as relieved as she was to hear that things would be "okay" and she'd still be receiving some form of help she couldn't help but scold herself for making yet another overreaction. Her eyes still wet, she looked over at Irene, ready for whatever she had in store for her.

Irene glanced over her notes before looking back at her. "Well, after what you've told me I feel like I can say that what you're dealing with is a case of depression, most likely severe but the fact that you haven't tried to harm yourself is a good sign."

With a sigh Candace dropped her head back down, defeated.

"I'm going to prescribe you some anti-depressions for it and they should help make it easier for you to start balancing out your mood or at least clear out most of those negative thoughts you get." She went on as she tore out a clean page from her notebook and began to scribble down on it.

"Anti-depressants…?" Candace asked, hardly peering up at her.

"Yes, they're pills you'll have to take each morning when you get up. They, like I said, will help your mind focus on keeping away negative thoughts throughout the day." Irene explained.

"S-So a pill to help me f-feel happy…?"

"Well not exactly, it's a bit more complicated than that."

Candace sank.

Irene set her new note down on the desk before returning her full attention to Candace. "There's nothing to be upset about Candace. This is going to be a big help in getting you on track to living a much more comfortable life."

"But why…? Why do I need a p-pill to make me feel b-better? Why can't I just f-feel better on my own…?" She mumbled.

"There's nothing wrong with having to take an anti-depressant or medicine to feel better. Every person is different and if this is something you need to so in order to benefit yourself then there's no harm or shame in doing so. I promise."

Candace glanced up at her then back down at her lap and sighed as if to say alright. As Irene then momentarily left the room to retrieve the drug in question she hopelessly tuned into the voices in her head attempting to convince her it was all a lie. Irene was only telling her it would work to make her feel better. It would be useless in the end, just like everything else. There was no miracle cure for her mentality, whether it actually did make her happy or just silence her negativity.

As she heard the door to the front half of the clinic reopen she felt those negative voices temporarily disperse, allowing her to feign indifference once again.

"Alright," Irene began as she entered the room with a bottle of pills wrapped in a note within her grasp. "I wrote you down some instructions but all you need to do is take two of these eat morning with your breakfast and they should take care of the rest themselves."

"T-That's it?" She asked as she carefully took them for herself.

Irene nodded. "You should have enough to last you till the Spring but should you need more for any reason just stop by."

Candace nodded back and slowly rose from her seat.

"You're going to do fine dear, don't you forget that. It's all going to get easier from here."

" _Like I haven't heard that before…"_

"Don't you forget, everything that happened here will be kept between you and me on my end. And please, if you ever feel the need to come and talk, please do so."

Again, Candace gave her a nod.

"And lastly, please, I urge you if your thoughts get any worse or you do feel like you're about to try and hurt yourself please come and see me immediately." Irene said in a more serious manner then before. "I trust that things will improve but I want you to know that just in case."

Tightening her grip around the bottle Candace lowered her head and nodded. "O-Okay…"

"You're going to get better Candace, trust me." Irene tried to assure her one last time.

Candace spared her yet another passing glance before looking away and nodding. She wanted to believe that this would finally ring true to her but after hearing it some many times that statement had lost all meaning to her.


End file.
